The Cloaked Storm
by Shaliira
Summary: The story follows Valanthe, a former Mirialan Jedi now Intelligence Agent that gets sucked into the horror of the war, the events, friendships, changes and even a romance that comes her way. See how she gets affected by Order 66 and its aftermath. Story begins in the SW:Clone Wars era and follows through into SW:Rebels era. Fives/OFC, Echo/OFC, OFC/OFC, Rex/Ahsoka
1. Chapter 1: Remember The Knight

**A/N:** Alright lovelies, I'm back with another product if my imagination. Hopefully my loyal followers from Darkness And Light and all you new folks will like this one

 **Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own the Star Wars franchize nor the Universe/Characters, those belong to mister George Lucas.

I **DO** own the character if Valanthe Riis and several other plot related characters aswell as the plot of this story.

Great big thanks to my faithful betas, **NixNox** and **Tyren**!

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 **==Coruscant, Housing Block '** _ **Chorathon**_ **', Apartment B-21==**

"Remind Thovan to re-interrogate the Black Sun peddler and ask him about the _Blue Crystal."_ The woman dictated into a small device as she rode in the lift to her small apartment. "Remember to review the _Ratleikh_ case for the hearing the day after tomorrow. Get Ianga to fix the processing output of my console." As she stopped in front of a non descript looking door, 21-B it said, she tapped a panel with her hand which slid aside, revealing a standard Ministry Of Intelligence used biometrics scan. She leaned in a little as a greenish scanning light emerged from the small circular panel and scanned her eye. Then she pressed her right hand against a pad below and another scanning light initiated.

 _ **IDENTITY CONFIRMED: AGENT CASSANDRA. LOCK RELEASED.**_ It said on the display as the door slid open. Tapping on the panel again it slid back into place and she stepped inside.

It was a rather non descript, standard middle class citizen's coruscanti apartment. One would have to look really hard to find personalized items in here. Perfect for someone who specialized in not being remembered. Agent Cassandra of the Republic Ministry Of Intelligence aka Agent Valanthe Riis, set the dinner she'd bought from one of the restaurants in the entertainment district on the counter as she entered.

The door locked behind her immediately as it closed. She took off her long duster revealing a cylindrical object strapped to the back of her belt. One would identify it as a lightsaber if they knew the general state of things. A DC-16 blaster pistol was slung in its holster at her hip. She pulled off the hood off of her head, her black, almost purple shaded hair spilling over her shoulders from it. She usually wore brown, blue or green colours or a mix of each so that her own dark green skin would stand out less.

So today it was a pair of combat boots and cargo pants topped with a t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie in dark brown shades that she wore under the long grey duster. She put her dinner on the heater and headed for her work desk to check her messages, unclasping her holster and lightsaber from her belt, placing them on the table. Her message filter held up a few news bulletins;

 _ **THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC SAVES THE JEDI ON GEONOSIS!**_

 _ **ARE CLONES THE NEW WAY TO WAGE WAR?**_

 _ **WILL CLONES MAKE JEDI OBSOLETE?**_

 _ **THE JEDI ASSUME ANCIENT PRE-RUUSAN ROLES - WAR GENERALS!**_

 _So, it_ had _come to it at last. The clone army rumours are true._ Vala thought to herself as she played a news bulletin on her video display across the room. The news report showed footage of the Geonosis battle, men in white armour going against the droid army used by the Separatists. Then it panned to a council member on Coruscant giving an interview to the most famous news agency in the Republic.

 _That could have been me, if I'd stayed._ The Mirialan woman sighed to herself as she untied her boots, tossed them to the side and headed for the cooling unit. Part of her was relieved that she was no longer part of that system; a part of her dearly missed it, being able to freely express and feel through the Force, surrounded by her fellows and friends. Shaak Ti, Luminara, Obi-Wan, even Quinlan with his unorthodox ways. Yet these ways were more close to her now than they ever had been when she'd been a Jedi Knight. Rubbing her lilac coloured eyes with one hand, she grabbed a bottle of a chilled lemon juice from the cooling unit, closing with the back of her bare foot.

Suddenly, there it was, a feeling in the back of her mind, on the edge of her senses, two shrouded Force signatures, yet not quite enough to be completely obscured to her. She took a long swig of the chilled drink, turning around as she did so, checking where her pistol and lightsaber were in case she needed them. Screwing the bottle cap back on, she stepped over to her work console, unclasped her holster and made sure the pistol was loose enough so she could reach for it and pull it back to her if needed. Vala took the intricately designed, dark hued lightsaber hilt and placed it on the counter, behind a fruit basket. Then she returned to her drink and waited, her senses probing, searching, more or less on their own accord, an instinct ingrained from years of practice and investigative work.

The two presences ascended up the levels rather slowly so she wasn't sure if they were trying to stay hidden or if they were just that slow. Either way she focused her mind and dimmed her own presence as a test. After a few moments she sensed no change in their pace. Maybe she wasn't the intended target? However five or six minutes later they finally came to a halt in front of her door. Only then did the Force shroud lift and she recognized the two presences. But why would _they_ of all people be there? It had been years. She opened the door from the inside and looked down.

"Master Yoda, Master Sinube." Vala called surprisedly. "This is a surprise." Her tone remained carefully neutral as she stepped aside to let the old masters enter.

"Expect us, you did not, young Valanthe." The small green Master spoke first.

The Mirialan nodded with a smile, "I must be slipping, it has been a while since I perused the Force like so." She said as the door behind them finally slid closed and locked.

"You are probably wondering why the sudden visit, eh my old Padawan?" The elderly Cosian chuckled as he slowly turned to her.

Vala nodded, "well it's been years, since my resignation and we haven't exactly parted on the best of terms…" Now that they were here her senses were much more able to pick up on their motivations. "What's happened?"

"A mistake on our part, that was. Deeply sorrowful am I for how things ended. Apologies I must deliver, before to the matter at hand we move." Yoda said as he clambered onto one of her sofas.

"Master Yoda, it was the will of the Force that things happened the way they did. I am at peace with my life now. There is no need to apologize." Vala said with a soft smile, sensing his sincerity.

Tera Sinube looked at her with sympathy, "you've seen the news then. The war, the clone army?"

 _Why do I have a bad feeling about this?_ She wondered in sudden alarm. This wasn't a social call. Well she never thought it was really, but this was more direct, a lot heavier, if their moods were anything to go by.

"Yes, I've been in the loop, Master." The Mirialan looked at Sinube, her former Master. "What's going on?"

 _They need me for something._ She thought, her alarm switching to concern.

"Our numbers, not enough are they, to successfully lead the men." Yoda began, "begun to hire experts, we have, to train and lead units and battalions."

Valanthe slowly nodded as she joined Yoda on the other sofa while Tera took the couch just as slowly as Yoda had. Where did _she_ come into this? Moreover, why?

"I see…" again she nodded slowly, slightly anxious for them to get to the point.

"We understand that you will more than likely decline, my friend," Tera tried kindly, gesturing with his hands as he always did, "however, we cannot think of anyone better suited to liaise and help train the clone intelligence troopers. With your dual skills, you are the best person to train them."

They wanted to pull her into the war with this. They had more in mind than just training.

"You want me in the field." Vala sighed, rubbing her hand over her tattooed nose.

She had a small dual-reverse triangle one between her eyebrows, a thick black stripe horizontally across her nose and half of her cheek with a small line of green skin showing on the bridge of her nose. The stripe ended with pointed ends around which several triangle shapes formed a design similar to a small arrowhead on each ending on her cheeks.

Yoda was watching her with understanding, remorse and a small dose of pity. But he expected her to refuse? Blinking, she refocused on the two smaller men.

"You would lead special assignments, yes, as well as assist established battalions when needed." Sinube said, placing an almost claw like hand on Vala's untattooed one. On her right hand she had a set of small circle and diamond shape patterns that followed along her fingerbones from the wrist to her fingernails. There were several more tattoos along her body but none were visible.

"So I'd be teaching and leading the clone troopers as well, if I understand you correctly?"

Internally she was at war with herself. Her inner, long dormant Jedi wanted to be out there, leading, helping. Her inner investigator was cautious, careful, leery of the prospect. She preferred the shadows; she preferred knowledge, rather than fieldwork. To boot, could she really train and lead a group of men all cloned from one genetic sample? Intelligence was a very particular business, not for every mentality nor psyche. So could clones really be up to it?

Yoda nodded, "correct."

"I need to think about this, Masters." Vala stood up, "will you have some refreshments?"

"Thank you, little one, but not needed." Sinube shook his elongated head.

"Thirsty I am not." Yoda said, his large green eyes watching her. "Understand we do also, the burden this represents."

Sitting back down she reached for the bottle and took a long sip before speaking again. "I don't think you do, Master Yoda." A deep breath as she continued, "I respect you both immensely and I _do_ understand why you feel you need me, but I am not a Jedi Knight anymore. I am no longer a Jedi Investigator either. I am an agent with Republic Ministry Of Intelligence. I do _good_ work here. I do _good_ too. I can't just up and leave my job or my colleagues because the Jedi called. The Jedi expelled me, for not agreeing with doctrine, remember?"

The two males sat in silence, watching her, radiating humility at her words. _At least they are aware of it._

"A temporary assignment it would be. Until ended the war is." Said Yoda finally.

"I will not be accounted among your ranks. Ally, friend, hired help, but I will not return to the Jedi for this." Vala commented as her lilac eyes observed them.

 _Regret, understanding, sorrow._ Riis could read them so clearly.

"I cannot give you a definitive answer now, however. This is a big decision, not one to be handled lightly, or swiftly. I need to seriously consider this." She took another long gulp.

"Of course, Ms Riis." Yoda nodded as he clambered down from his seat, "grateful we are that hear us out you would."

"How will I contact you?" She asked as she too stood up looking with some concern at the Cosian as he climbed down from the couch.

He and Yoda looked like animated caricatures sometimes, both old, wise, extremely skilled and bent over their walking sticks. They, along with Obi-Wan, had been kind to her during the incident which ended with her expulsion. For that they would forever remain her friends.

"At the Jedi Temple contact us, you can. If on a campaign we are, redirected, your message will be." Yoda said, looking up at her.

Valanthe couldn't help but smile at them, "I am glad to have seen you, regardless. How is Obi-Wan?"

"Master Kenobi is well, he and his former padawan, Knight Skywalker have been deployed with their battalions." Tera offered as he and Yoda started for the door.

 _Anakin became a Knight. Who'd have thought._ Vala thought amusedly as she walked them to the door slowly.

"Remember those days, do you still?" Yoda sagely asked as they reached the door and Vala leaned over them to open it.

"It's not something I can forget, Master Yoda." Vala smiled as the door opened. "The Force be with you, my friends."

"And with you, my old Padawan, and with you." Tera Sinube bowed slightly and she returned the gesture.

Slowly the two elderly Jedi passed her doorstep, the doors closing behind them and she was alone again with one staggering thought. Would she do it? Or not?

What she couldn't hear behind the door, shrouded again by the Force was the talk between the two Jedi.

"Think she will accept?" The Cosian was concerned.

"Considering it she is. Expect this, I did not. A mysterious thing the Force is, hmm?" Yoda countered as they entered the lift.

"Mysterious indeed, Master. Mysterious indeed." Tera added as the lift doors closed behind them.


	2. Chapter 2: Time For Choices

**A/N:** Disclaimer – see Chapter 1 – plus a small addition: **The Shinarcan Bridge belongs to Karen Traviss (Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel).**

This is the first chapter I'm using a fan requested character, so **NightB1ade** , here's your guy.

I'm open to more fan requests ;)

Big thanks as always to my betas **NixNox** and **Tyren**.

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It had taken her a good hour to snap out of her shock of Master Yoda and Sinube's visit to even begin considering their request. From a logistical, logical, detached aspect she could understand their need. The Jedi barely numbered a ten thousand at the time, not nearly enough to wage a war. From a personal, emotional side she both rebelled against the idea of going to war this was not the Jedi way, it was not _her_ way. But war didn't choose, it took.

Valanthe Riis would have to choose however. The will of the Force eluded her at the moment, the one guide she knew she needed to follow, regardless of the tumult in her heart and mind.

Despite no longer being a Jedi, despite being a member of the Intelligence Service, Valanthe had always ascribed herself a servant of the Living Force. Meditation and weighing the pro's and con's of accepting or declining the request would help her reach a solution, she hoped.

Ironically, it was Tera Sinube's words themselves that urged a different, more methodical course of action. _"The value of moving slowly is that one can always clearly see the way ahead."_

So she spent the night in her meditation room with stacks of holo images, informational pads on the Confederacy of Independent Systems, their army and research on clones that had been made available to the Republic by the Kaminoan Cloners instead of meditating like she'd originally intended.

The morning found the Mirialan curled up on the floor, face half plastered over one of the padds, softly snoring.

 _Chirp, chirp!_ A wall panel bleeped.

 _Chirp, chirp!_

It took several more bleeps and chirps before her brain registered sounds. Blearily she slowly crawled over to the wall on all fours, using the wall as a brace to straighten up her stiff joints and sore muscles from sleeping in an uncomfortable position on the floor. Rubbing her eyes, she muttered a string of curses at whoever it was on the other side and quickly patted her dishevelled hair down.

Turning the communication on, the image displayed showed a Human male in his late twenties, early thirties, long dirty blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail. His nose was crooked from too many breaks, his eyebrows thick and bushy, covering piercing grey eyes. His most identifying feature however, was his armour. Not as heavy as many Mandalorians wore them, but still quite distinctly of the warrior-like people.

Vala rubbed her lilac eyes again, sighing, "Julius." She greeted, trying to hide the grumpiness at being woken up from her eyes. The Mirialan was absolutely _not_ a morning person.

His teeth were as crooked as his nose as he grinned at her, "well I always wondered what you looked in the morning after a good cyar'gotal'uur. Now I know."

It took her a moment to realize just what he said in mando'a. Dark eyebrows slanted over her eyes as she glared at him. "I fell asleep researching, you di'kut. I'll have you know I look pretty good after a night of sex."

"I'm sure, but unless I test myself I can't just take your word for it." He chuckled, "you understand, Mandalorian hands on experience and all."

Vala rolled her eyes. It was their usual banter, he was her CI, a Confidential Informant, she was his handler.

"Keep wishing, looking at those teeth of yours, instant turn-off." She waved his advances off as per usual. "What do you want, Julius?"

"I've got a doozy for you, Kaminoans and Jedi are hiring mercs and bounty hunters to train new clones. They're looking at someone from RMOI to train up clone intel." He smugly leaned back, crossing his gauntleted arms on his chest.

Pulling an unruly strand behind her ear, Vala leaned to the side of the wall and sighed, "Jul, I this is not _new_ news. I was tapped yesterday for this." Then she frowned a little as she saw the source of the transmission. "You're on Kamino…"

Julius Tal nodded, "got it in one, dala. Two buddies of mine Bric and El-Les are training Cadets and I'm overseeing pilot training."

"Alright, Jul who pushed you to call me, Yoda or Sinube?" Riis ran her tongue across her teeth behind her lips. _Spirits, I need to wash them really badly._

A chuckle erupted from the Mandalorian, "neither, dollface, the ever cheerful and bubbly Master Shaak Ti. She said I'd have a better shot than either of them, she may have also used that nifty little Jedi persuasion trick to entice me." The man scowled a little.

Vala knew how much he hated having Jedi mind tricks and Force abilities used on him. It was why she'd always refrained from those in their meetings, which in turn grew into respect given by him in turn and a genuine friendship forming, usually dancing around in banter and innuendo but never going anywhere. She kept a friendly distance due to her position and she knew it'd never go anywhere on either side. They simply enjoyed tossing words back and forth without consequences.

"What are they like, Jul?" Her expression softened as the question came out.

She'd realized suddenly she had a chance to talk to someone whose judgement proved trustworthy thus far about this, rather than the ever elusive, ever dispassionate Jedi. Julius had the ability to _not_ sugarcoat things.

He took a sip of a liquid of some kind before replying, "You know how we expect anything that came from the same source to be exactly _like_ that source? Well that's not the case here, Lily-Eyes. They look the same but they distinguish themselves, those di'kuts have names. _Names,_ can you believe it?"

 _Spirits, they've bred a new race to fight and die for us. How in the Force did we not see this before? The Seppies using droids almost seem more humane, than us breeding slaves to do our jobs, defending the Republic._ Thoughts ran a mile a second in her head at his words.

"Really, Jul, after praise you diss them?" Vala chuckled.

He winked at her, chuckling, "it's a man thing, dala. Affection between boys and all."

"How could I forget," she replied dryly. "Shame on me."

He folded his arms again, looking at the scruffy looking woman, "so, you comin'?"

There was that question again, the one she'd tried to avoid during this conversation yet everything said so far lead to this point. In the back of her mind she knew it. Running a green hand through her layered, straight hair, she sighed.

"I'm still considering it. After what happened with the Jedi, I'm reluctant to involve myself with anything related to them." She paused, opening and closing her lips.

"But?" He prodded.

"But this is a war we're talking about and it's bigger than just one angry former Jedi." She said finally, lowering her head, looking at her bare feet.

"Vala, it's an honorable fight. Defending one's home and way of life, are the shadows really worth the guilt I _know_ you'll feel if you don't take part?" For someone sarcastic and brash, Julius often offered surprising insight, which was evident in the raising of her head to look at him. "Besides, working side by side with you finally instead of meeting in bars and back alleys much as I simply adored the cold, the damp and stuck blasters," there went the sarcasm again.

"Don't go all honourable Mandalorian on me now, I prefer the back alley sleemo." Riis chuckled, "look, I don't know. I'm not getting paid for this, it's…"

"You need to volunteer…" His tone lost the playfulness. "Do it for the citizens of the Republic, for Mirial, haran do it for the boys you'll train. You need to find that reason, just don't wait the whole war to find it."

"I'll call you later Jul." His words had struck her at the core and she felt she needed air, or as close to it that Coruscant had. She closed the communication channel before he had a chance to reply.

 _Shower, shower first, I stink._ She stripped out of her clothes as she headed for the shower, leaving a trail of them in her wake.

Time again she was surprised at how soothing and therapeutic water could be. The massaging droplets on her skin, slithering down her back and her front. She particularly liked how it had the ability to soothe her troubled mind as it massaged her scalp. Leaning on her hands she let the water wash away the night and the anxiousness she felt at what lay before her.

An image of the Jedi Temple and the Senate Building kept cropping up in her head as she rubbed the shampoo into her hair. Also a feeling of calm and acceptance the origin of which she wasn't entirely certain of. Having cleaned her hair, she slowly rubbed the showering gel into her skin, tracing the tattoos on her torso and legs as she did so, almost as if a ritual of remembrance as well as relaxing her muscles.

A lightsaber burn from her waist to the middle of her left thigh had resulted in a nasty scar. However the only reminder of the scar was a thin inscription along the length of where the bacta had healed the damage to the tissue. It was an old Mirialan proverb on how scars meant one had survived great changes in life. There was one scar she'd refused to have removed on the her right shoulder blade, a scratch of the classic three claws of a manka cat she suffered when she was a young Padawan, not listening to the caution of her Master.

The Mirialan's body was well built and toned, a clear sign of someone who relied on her own physical readiness rather than just the enhancements of the Force. Slowly, she exited the shower and dried off, then picked up a clean pair of her very unimaginative cargo pants and a long sleeved shirt as well as practical rather than alluring underclothes. Putting those on, she re-did her combat boots and utility belt with her blaster and lightsaber snugly secured. Her hair being rather short it dried quite quickly as she rubbed it with a towel and while she dressed. Finally putting on her duster, she left her apartment, going through all the locking motions before heading to find the nearest taxi.

 ** _===Shinarcan Bridge, two hours later===_**

The back road away from the Jedi Temple was never as crowded as the main was. Once upon a time she'd prefered the back way. As she stood on the bridge, looking at the monumental building in the distance she realized that something felt wrong. It felt dulled, the sensation coming her way from the Force Nexus. Usually she could bathe in the safe feeling that emanated , she could pick it up once she stepped onto the Bridge, yet now, something was different.

 _Perhaps me being away for seven years has dulled my perception of it. Or lack of use?_ She thought to herself as images of her last days at the Temple flooded her mind. The disbelief and disappointment in their faces and Force signatures. What she'd done was something they could not get past, sparing little thought to her reasoning.

 _I did the right thing._ She still felt about it as strongly as she had back then and events since had proved she was right to do it. But at the time, it was wrong, it was immoral, it was _not the Jedi way,_ as they'd said. Yet still, she had not fallen under the influence of the Dark. Still she was here, fighting for the Light.

Words echoed in her head, _it's bigger than just one angry former Jedi._ Closing her eyes momentarily, she took a deep breath and sighed. Turning away, she headed for the nearest taxi pad and hopped a ride to the Senate Building.

 ** _===Senate Building, thirty minutes later===_**

Despite her lack of love for politics or even less of one for politicians, she could not deny the grandeur and majesty of the building. It inspired faith and confidence even to those who knew what backhanded dealings went on inside. She wasn't doing this for the Jedi. Jul's words now echoed in her mind, _"Do it for the citizens of the Republic, for Mirial, haran do it for the boys you'll train."_

She certainly wouldn't be doing it for the politicians and the profiteers which were sure to start cropping up sooner rather than later.

"I guess that answers that," she realized she'd already made a decision. Valanthe was struggling with having made it, rather than having to make it. She would accept the Jedi's request, but she would do it for the innocents, the people who had no say in what was going on, the people who were just trying to survive, for the captured, for the dead, for the unborn.

Rubbing her face with her hand, she turned away from the building and headed down the long, lavish bridge. Picking up a comms device she carried in her pocket, she keyed in a frequency.

A familiar accented voice answered the call. Aayla Secura, back in the day a contemporary of hers. "Aayla, it's Valanthe Riis." The mirialan took a moment to speak, containing herself.

It was obvious from the measured response that the Twi'lek was doing the same. "What can I do for you, Valanthe?"

"Would you please pass on a message to Masters Yoda and Sinube?" Secura had been one of those that had taken a strong stance against her actions, despite her own dance with the Dark.

"Of course, what is it?" The tone remained measured.

"Tell them, I'll do it. Tell them...I accept." _Spirits help me if I called it wrong._


	3. Chapter 3: Enter Tipoca, Enter Change

Master Sinube was honestly surprised when he met with her the following day to brief her and make her assignment official. She received a warrant card with her credentials for the water world's establishments and a detailed report on Kaminoans in a manner and language she best understood, an investigator's one.

As prepared as she'd been from the material she'd been able to gain with her RMOI access, she was utterly unprepared for how she'd feel when she'd first been picked up by the transport ship taking her to Kamino. It was, as most other Grand Army of the Republic vessels, manned by clones. The diversity of force signatures and repressed emotions hit her like a tidal wave she barely kept in check as she stepped aboard the transport.

Most of them wore their helmets on at all times and generally avoided any kind of contact or interaction for the time she spent aboard. What she _did_ feel was the curiosity of some of them, ones with slightly more battleworn armour, ones not as afraid of their inner selves.

 _Older clones, or more experienced ones?_ She wondered. But during the course of her trip she didn't have a chance to ask, nor did she feel quite comfortable intruding on a being who so obviously tried to steer clear of her.

Kamino itself was also unlike anything she'd expected. The holo's hardly did it justice.

"You're coming in a good day, Commander." Said the pilot as she stood in the cockpit of the vehicle transporting her to Tipoca City, Kamino's Capital.

She'd been given the rank of Commander, rather than General on the account of not being a Jedi.

"Good day? It's gale force winds out there and the sky's as grey as stone!" Vala chuckled.

The clone's accent was interesting. Unusual and even a little alluring, she realized. "I understand you prefer names over your birth numbers?" The mirialan asked.

"On a bad day it's thunderstorms too, Commander." The pilot replied, "name's Orchid, by the way."

 _How interesting. I wonder how you came by it?_ She wondered quietly. Vala sensed his momentary apprehension at her question, but he clamped it down quickly.

"Hello, Orchid, I'm Vala." She smiled at the armoured man.

There was a brief hint of a pleased feeling before that too was squished by, "yes, Commander."

This made her cringe. What kind of brainwashing did the Kaminoans do here to make them so tightly wound up and controlled?

As the vehicle finally landed, she sensed two very different presences along with a stronger clone presence which was expected.

"It was good to meet you, Orchid. Fly well and be safe." She clasped the armoured shoulder and stepped into the main section and picked up her duffle bag.

She'd sensed a momentary confusion then a sense of almost gratitude as she stepped away. _Spirits, are they all so starved for positivity or just this one?_

As the loading doors opened, one of the troopers cleared her for departure she stepped off the vehicle, sensing two familiar presences approach her. One was a tall, red skinned, heavily robed Togruta female, the other a swaggering, taller mandalorian bounty hunter.

"Hey Lilly-Eyes!" Julius Tal bellowed and winked at her, "the only green I ever stomached."

Valanthe rolled her eyes, the man could be so overly crude sometimes.

"Always a pleasure, Julius," she replied evenly, though he could tell by the crinkle around her eyes that she was good naturedly amused.

Then she turned to the silent Togruta. She could feel the Jedi Master probing her, yet she could not sense the hostility she'd received from Aayla.

"Shaak Ti, it is good to see you again." Valanthe bowed in a traditional Jedi way.

The Togruta offered the minutest of smiles, "Valanthe Riis, it has been quite some time. You are looking well," Shaak said, motioning for them to follow her.

There was the unmistakable ending of a sentence there, _and unturned_.

"I must admit it feels unusual, getting to work with you again," Shaak said as she lead the way deeper into the complex, the wind billowing her robes and Vala's duster.

As they entered a building, Vala noticed that as they walked past, most of the attention was on Shaak Ti and herself. Were women that much of a rarity here? Well non Kaminoan women rather. Another question chalked up she'd barrage Julius with later.

"Have you already picked out potential trainees?" Valanthe asked as Shaak and Julius lead her towards the inner complex.

"We've got a group of candidates, Sergeants Bric and El-Les helped pick them. We have a few problems though, some of them are from a really bad batch." Julius said as they rounded a corner

Vala frowned. "How are my potentials from a bad batch? What constitutes...a _bad batch?_ " The Mirialan frowned adjusting her duffel bag.

"They're unable to work together. The squad in question, Domino, has had unity issues. Yet at the same time, they have shown a wider range of individual thinking than most groups trained so far." Shaak Ti explained.

"That's bad, I grant you, but also good. A soldier who can use their head is a live soldier. Same goes for intelligence officers." Valanthe countered as plans began forming in her head.

Julius grinned as he caught the mildly disapproving look on Shaak Ti's face. He considered it payback for the Togruta's subtle manipulations of him and fellow non Force using trainers. It was another reason he was glad to have Valanthe on Kamino. She'd always struck him as a level headed and grounded person, guided as much by fact and evidence as by the Force.

Valanthe smirked a little too, "I want to meet with the potentials tomorrow. I'll make my own approach and filtering. Just send me their files."

Shaak Ti nodded, "Commander Colt will meet with you tomorrow and help you with your assessments. At present we should meet with Lama Su, the Kaminoan Prime Minister."

The Mirialan nodded, "alright."

"You can give me your bag, I'll keep it for you and show you your room once you're done and then I'll show you around, introduce you to the other trainers." Julius extended his hand to her.

Without much thinking she handed him her duffle bag and followed after Shaak Ti. He tossed the two women a wink and followed after them.

"It is...good to see you again, Valanthe." The red Togruta said finally, relaxing somewhat.

Valanthe smiled a little, "you too, Shaak. I know things soured between us when things went down, I know you had to keep your distance."

"I should have reached out to you regradless. You were and still are a friend of mine. Jedi or not. They were blind in their views, the others, noone could have swayed their opinion. Quinlan and I _did_ try, as did Obi-Wan. But the Council overruled us by majority." Ti sighed a little.

The Mirialan nodded, "I know. It's alright, Shaak. I have accepted this path and I know now the Force guided me correctly. I am no longer blind."

She could feel Julius behind them frowning, wondering as he listened to them. Tomorrow seemed like a day of many questions and many answers. What concerned Valanthe the most was the Kaminoan and trainer standards. If a really bad batch was a group of individual thinking Clones, then what exactly was a good batch? Blind sheep? Was this what was happening here? Her inner investigator couldn't help but ask these questions.

 _ **===Gymnasium 3, Special Training, 09:00 the following morning===**_

Sleeping in a room that was actually partly under water, the window revealing the depths of the planet had been an interesting affair. Personally, Valanthe had sort of enjoyed the strange experience. It had been calming in a way, easing her into sleep.

Now, she was sipping her caf in a mug, as she made her way to Gymnasium 3, to meet her potential candidates. She wore a set of dark cargo pants, a dark t-shirt and combat boots, her hair dancing about her face, much to her annoyance. So she kept pushing it behind her ears.

A heavily armoured clone trooper stood calmly in front of the Gymnasium door. He had what she'd come to learn was Experimental Phase II armour on, with red and gray colour markings on his pauldrons, kama and boots. Her research showed that this one was an ARC Trooper rather than the regular Clone Trooper.

"Good morning," She called to him as she approached.

The helmeted man looked over at her, easily snapping to attention. "Morning, Commander."

She waved it away, "my name's Valanthe, or Vala if you like. I'm not a Jedi nor a military individual. What's your name?"

He was both surprised and amused by the small green woman, "ARC-" he began to say but was cut off by her hand raising.

There was a smile accompanying the hand, "your name, not your number."

"Colt, sir. ARC Trooper Colt." He relaxed, still surprised at the casualness of this woman. It was a wholly new experience for him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Colt." Vala smiled and took another sip of her caf. "They inside?"

He nodded, "yes, sir."

Vala sighed slightly, it would seem some of the formality was inevitable, at least with this one. But her composure returned quickly, as she stepped inside, Colt following her easily. He removed his helmet and bellowed.

"Form up, Cadets, on the double!"

Vala winced slightly at how quickly and efficiently the fifteen men that had been picked did as they were ordered. Surprise and curiosity followed at how some were very diverse from each other while the others seemed to strive to look and behave completely identically to the other. They were _all_ curious about _her_ however. She could feel eyes on her, discreet and not so discreet looks.

 _Some things never change._ She thought amusedly to herself as she came to a stop in front of the assembled men.

"Good morning, everyone." She said, looking at them.

As one, they called back, "good morning, sir!"

The Mirialan kept up a smile, "my name is Valanthe Riis, I've been hired to train a, what they would call Clone Intelligence Unit. As if the emphasis on your race will make any difference. In my view, I'm here to train spooks. A spook is a spook, regardless of race. So, I'm Valanthe, or Vala. What are your names?"

Again, as with Colt, they started rattling off their numbers until she raised a hand. She stepped over to the one closest to her.

"What's your _name?_ " Vala asked, smiling up at him.

From him and the one next to him, she could sense the most curiosity. From him specifically, she could tell a live mind and personality as well as daring.

He looked down at the green woman, his amber eyes landing on her lilac ones. "Fives, sir. My name is Fives."

"Pleasure to meet you, Fives." Vala held his gaze for a moment and nodded before she moved onto the next one.

"I'm Echo, sir." He nodded. Echo often wished he had Fives' confidence with people skills.

"You two are with which squad?" She looked over at their uniform markings. They had green on their pauldron.

"Domino, sir." Echo replied. Why was this lady treating them this way? It was confusing and not according to regulations.

Valanthe smiled a little at his obvious confusion and the exact opposite that was coming from Fives, curiosity and even a small amount of interest.

 _The bad batch...right._ She thought to herself with a small frown as she went onto the next one.

"Burner, ma'am." This one had closely cropped hair rather than the standard cut most clones seemed to be sporting that she'd seen.

"Hello, Burner." Riis nodded, stepping over to the one next to Burner.

The one next to Burner stiffened up a little as she approached him. "Stick, sir."

She went down the line for a few more minutes before she came to the centre of it again. "I'll be honest with all of you, not everyone is going to make the cut. I don't want you to think that it's because there is something wrong with you, or that there is something wrong with your training or genetics. An intelligence agent relies on their mind, their wit, their training to execute their operations. Loyalty is valued, yes, but blind obedience? It gets you killed. Our goal is information. That's all. We're not front line actors, we are the shadows. Some of you here have what it takes, some of you don't."

She finished her coffee and set it on a nearby bench before walking back to them. "Now, tell me who of you wants to actually be here and be an intelligence agent?"

 _Step one, eliminate the ones forced to be there._ Vala observed them carefully, reading their reactions.

Nine raised their hands, two started to but lowered them. "Those of you who didn't raise your hands, you can leave with Commander Colt and you'll be returned to your squads and

continue your prior training."

 _Step two, filter what's left further._ The two Domino's were indeed curious.

Fives and Echo had started to leave too but Vala stepped in front of them. "Why did you hesitate then lower your hands?"

Echo stiffened up a little, looking at Fives. Fives raised an eyebrow at Echo, "really, vod?"

Vod was a mando'a word for brother. Vala smiled a little, it was almost as if watching an older and a younger brother. Or perhaps a shy and an assertive one.

"Well, we really wanted to be ARC Troopers, sir." Fives admitted, running a hand through the hair at the back of his head.

The Mirialan nodded, "so why are you here?"

"Master Ti felt it would be a way to teach us discipline." Echo added, finding his voice finally.

She nodded for the two of them to follow her to the side so they could talk more privately. As they were a good way away from the other nine, still waiting in formation after Commander Colt lead the other four away, Valanthe turned to them.

"I've heard of this problem with your squadron. What's going on?" Her tone softened a little as she felt them both stiffen a little, feelings of shame and guilt permeating then.

"We're unable to work as a unit, sir." Echo said, hanging his head.

Valanthe raised an eyebrow, "why?"

They both looked at her curiously. All Domino had ever gotten from their trainers and fellow Clones was grief over their inability to unify. Now this newcomer was asking for their opinion, for their take on the matter. Why?

"Sir?" Echo's eyebrows raised.

"Why are you unable to work as a unit?" Vala pushed.

"I don't know, sir. We _know_ what we need to do, but we can't seem to come together on the course. Each has their own ideas, we don't wait for the others." Fives rubbed the back of his neck now, wondering.

"Look, you two are clearly able to think for yourselves, are the others like that as well?" Riis looked from one to the other. "Your goal is to achieve your assignment as a unit, yes?"

Fives and Echo nodded. "Yes, sir."

"It's not set a specific way, no? If the circumstances don't fit your team make up, then change the circumstances, gentlemen. You have the team you have. Use them. Use your heads, but use them together." Valanthe smiled at them. "While I would like to have you train with me, I feel your heart wouldn't be in it. Your heart is set on becoming ARC Troopers. Then do whatever it takes to get there. First step is to homogenize as a squad. If you manage that, you can manage anything. If you become ARC Troopers and would still like to receive intelligence training, or even join CI, then you know where to find me."

Fives grinned at her. Somehow she had managed to make him feel better. He still had no idea how to accomplish it, but he felt better, and he'd find a way. Him and Echo would find a way to do it. He was sure of it.

"Thank you, sir." He said, clasping his hands behind his back.

Echo echoed the sentiment, offering a hesitant smile.

"Go on then, get your squad functional and save some lives, yes?" She spread her her arms a little in a positive reinforcement pose.

They were feeling a lot more sure of themselves and calmer now. Straightening out and saluting to her, the two did an about face and walked out of the gymnasium.

Rubbing her hands together, Valanthe made a mental note to check in on those two at a later date, see how they were doing.

"Alright boys. Let's go over intelligence fundamentals. There are information padds on that bench over there." She pointed to a stack of equipment on it. "Grab those, and grab a seat. We're going to need to help you unlearn some of the things that have been drilled into you, so that you could become a better operative. Oh and perpetual _at ease_ is being enforced from now on while we're not around your superior officers. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Came a chorus reply as they broke the line and went to grab the information padds from the bench.

Valanthe winced and sighed. _First we need to drill the yes, sir out of you._


	4. Chapter 4: Balmorran Honey

**A/N:** Enjoy folks! ;) Reviews are love :D

Huge thanks to **NixNox** , **Asami** and **Tyren** for putting up with me during this chapter and betaing it for me. *mwah!*

* * *

 _ **===Balmorra, Sobrik, Sunken Sarlacc Cantina, several months later===**_

Training clones out of their ingrained, near brainwashed blind loyalty was a hard process as was teaching them to think for themselves. It had been necessary however considering the nature of the job they'd been hired for. Of the nine that had remained, eight passed training, with one of them returning to the 212th as a Sergeant to lead a squad, as he hadn't been psychologically disciplined enough. Slick had been a passionate individual, highly intelligent and individualistic, but he lacked the common sense and discipline to keep sight of higher goals. Needless to say he hadn't been happy about not making the cut.

Now Valanthe along with five of the eight troopers who'd passed training was on a covert assignment on Balmorra. The three others; nicknamed Vas, Blackie and Len had their own assignment on Felucia. Valanthe, Burner, Stick, Aster, Pel and Torn had been tasked with infiltrating the Balmorran Arms Factory, the Okara Droid Factory and the Troida Military workshop and uncover which of the three major weapons, ammunitions and droid producers were on the CIS payroll and disrupt and/or hopefully destroy this particular supply line. The Republic was aware of Geonosian factories but they were at the time too heavily guarded.

Balmorra, having seceded from the Republic months before and given protection by the Trade Federation Lucrehulk ships, fell under the suspicion of siding with the Separatists, particularly after General Grievous had been spotted in the system several weeks ago. As soon as Valanthe's unit was ready, they were dispatched on missions. So far they had remained undetected, though the area they operated in hadn't been particularly _Seppie_ orientated. So that put Okara Droid Factory and the Troida Military Workshop off of their list.

One more remained, the Balmorran Arms Factory. The Factory's Foreman frequented the establishment, particularly enjoying Alderaanian whiskey and the very friendly women. Valanthe's cover was one of a such friendly woman. Her boys were strategically placed inside the Cantina, outside of it and in one of the rooms on the floor above that Valanthe's alter ego Kylinra had rented.

While she herself only changed her outfit, the guys having had to go greater lengths lest they be recognized. This was where Vala's friendship with Julius was put to good use as he was able to procure disguises in the form of a holographic disguise matrix, aka the shadow hologram. His connections as a bounty hunter managed to procure them six matrices so the now very different looking clones were blended into the background.

Vala herself could not recognize them save for their Force signatures. True to their training, their behavior adjusted according to their roles. The Mirialan herself was dressed in an extremely tight fitting, sleeveless lilac dress that matched her eyes.

It just barely covered her behind, displaying strong, well toned thighs and calves covered in green shimmersilk stockings more to hide her tattoos than to attract, topped off with high heeled, modern black shoes. The fabric clung to her curves like second skin, dipping low around the cleavage, displaying her tightly packed breasts as if they were trophies. Her hair was fluffed up and curled, and she had a generous amount of purple make up on.

She _hated_ the outfit with a passion. None of them voiced it, but the boys loved it, she could tell. One of the rare occasions so far that they had seen her out of her usual pants, shirt, boots and duster outfit. Even then she'd noticed looks and interest, but in this instance, it was as overwhelming as it was interesting. Their male genes were clearly at play here, despite their training, accelerated aging and just general genetic manipulations the Kaminoans. Nature was fascinating that way. Aim to create something uniform and identical in large batches and get something completely unexpected. Life in its infinite diversities.

So, dolled up she sat at the bar, legs crossed, slowly sipping a cocktail, her eyes casually inspecting those who would enter.

The Foreman, Jax Rath was a small but compact looking human male, a Balmorran local. He had thick black hair and piercing blue eyes, a goatee and more than ample amounts of charm.

" _No sign of him yet,"_ Aster commented quietly from his position outside.

They each had earbud type communication devices to minimize tell take motion of answering a wrist comm.

" _These are his hours. Keep your eyes peeled, Aster."_ Her ever vigilant and task focused second-in-command, Burner commented from within the big room.

Like the others, he too had grown his hair out and individualized, as such his hair was just on the side of floppy, similar to General Kenobi's style, only dyed a dark red, as were his eyebrows. He always sported a five'o'clock shadow nowadays.

He nearly choked when he saw the Commander in the honeytrap outfit. The boys had pretty much the same reactions which he couldn't blame them for. The Commander, or Vala as she insisted they call her but only he did so and only in private, was their Commanding Officer and they needed to show her proper respect. Or so his inner soldier gnawed at him. He couldn't really blame his brothers for noticing the woman in their midst. Especially since she was an attractive one to boot.

So he kept them in line as best he could but never really punished them for being what they were. Men. Men loyal to their Commander. It was his job to keep all of them safe.

Seeing her in that incredibly sexual outfit made him realize what role she'd assigned herself and it made him feel awful. She was the bait, having to do something so degrading for the sake of a mission was a clone's job. When he'd said it to her she chewed him out for having such a low opinion of himself and his brothers but admitted to hating such roles, as necessary as they were.

Aster's words broke him out of his thoughts. _Eastern entrance, appears to be alone._

Vala put on as sultry a smile as she knew how to do, slightly adjusted her cleavage and made a point to cross her legs just as the man entered. She hated playing bait, especially if it lead to physicality. To her such pursuits were a matter between two people who actually liked and were attracted to each other. The Jedi restraint and mindfulness was something she was both grateful and resentful for in these instances.

It kept her choices well thought out, but at the same time she needed a long time to even allow for such feelings. But currently she was more hoping that her boys could play their parts rather than her own issues.

She could sense the shift of his interest as his piercing blue eyes caught her's across the room. She smirked at him, raising her glass of whiskey and slightly nodding, a coy expression on her face. Vala had to play him so that he would come to her. Her eyes crinkled as she held his gaze, a delicate eyebrow raised, all the trademark tells of a _come hither_ posture.

With a charming smile he detangled himself from the group of people that had surrounded him, ordering a drink as he slowly made his way through the crowd, barely taking his eyes off of her. She kept her gaze still and confident, smiling silkily at him, running her eyes along his form unabashedly.

His smirk grew into a grin as he noticed that she was checking him out. Jax did the same, quite slowly, his eyes took in her form, her posture, her smile, her eyes.

 _There we go,_ she thought to herself as she watched him drink her in. On any other day, in any other non-work situation she would feel affected and appreciate the burning attention. Now though, despite her smile and openness, it made her stomach twist and her gut tighten. She'd have to go a lot further still before she could even suggest going up to _her_ _room._

"G'evenin'" Jax drawled as he approached her, taking the stool next to her without asking if it was available.

 _Even his accent is ramped for charm,_ Vala quietly observed as she threw him a smile, "evening' yourself, handsome."

He languidly took the glass given to him, "Alderaanian whiskey, ye know yer stuff." Pointing to her glass, he clinked his against hers and took a sip.

Vala did the same, holding his eyes holding hers as she did so. "I asked for the best they had, I'm told this is it. It's quite good."

He held up a hand, "no, no dearie, not _quite good._ The _best._ I see I'm going to have to teach you some things. Name's Jax, by the way." He proceeded to extend his hand to her.

Languidly she placed hers in his, "Kylinra."

"Well, Ky, tonight's your lucky night. Let me tell you why Alderaanian whiskey is the best liquor out there." He leaned closer to her, his hand falling on her knee and squeezing a little.

 _So it begins,_ a bitter thought as she pretended to listen with rapt attention. The hand slowly but surely moved up, kneading and massaging, as he spoke, his eyes alternating between her cleavage, her lips and her eyes. Occasionally she would nod, keeping her own eyes dancing on his features, trying very hard not to squirm at his wandering hand which slowly made its way further up her thigh. The pit in her stomach deepened and revulsion slowly filled it. Sadly, it was hardly over.

He leaned closer to her in a half whisper, and she shivered as his other hand grazed across her cleavage albeit in a gentle manner. She forced a smile and craned her neck a little.

The fury of her team was almost palpable as they were forced to watch and not take action until she actually lead the sleemo to her room. Valanthe only hoped they'd be able to contain themselves, as she was forced to do herself.

"Mhm…" she murmured as he said something she'd only half heard, her stomach churning further as his hand slid almost under her dress. "Do you want to take this…" she paused for breath as his fingers grazed at her panties, "upstairs?"

Vala pulled back a little to look at him, her eyes half lidded and a coy smirk on her lips. Momentary relief came as his hand released her inner thigh. Only to latch onto her hips along with his other one. Only then did she realize that he was actually standing between her now parted legs.

"You have a room?" He leaned closer to her, his lips grazing her left earlobe as his fingers danced across her waist and hips.

She nodded, gasping for a breath to stop herself from lashing out. Thankfully he seemed to interpret it as desire as he stepped back with a smug grin and took one of her hands, tugging at her gently to follow him.

"Put it on my tab." He motioned to the bartender then to both of their drinks as he pulled her against his side, his arm firmly locking her hip to his as he leaned in and plastered his lips to her cheek and started for the side room.

The side room was actually a lift that lead to the upper floor. Jax motioned for her to enter first. As she did so, she took a quick, deep breath, preparing herself for what would follow. Soon enough, his hands found her waist again and roughly turned her around. She plastered on a smile as one of his arms grasped a buttock while the other slid into her hair and pulled her flush against him, searing her lips onto his. Her arms wrapped around his torso and shoulder as she threw herself into the kiss, praying that the lift would go faster.

Then her back hit the wall and she felt herself being raised, her legs wrapping around his waist. One of his hands left her momentarily and to her horror the lift suddenly stopped. The horror continued as his lips slowly started sucking and nibbling on her neck and he ground his hips against hers. His excitement could clearly be felt through the relatively thin layers of fabric.

 _Kriff! Kriff! Kriff! Kriff!_ She cursed mentally. A hitch in a plan was always expected, but this was not quite what she had in mind and that was putting it all so mildly.

Thankfully, the lift got moving again before she had time to properly panic and think of a way that she could get out of what would clearly lead to sex right then and there. Only, his hands never left her, so she imagined it must have been an outside influence. One of her boys or someone else?

Suddenly he moved away from her, holding her hand and pulling her out of the lift. For the sake of appearances she pulled at the hem of her dress, pulling it back over her behind, as she pretended to stumble after him.

"The one to the left." She pointed to a room, with a silly smile on her face.

In the back of her mind she registered Pel and Torn approaching her position albeit slowly, to not raise suspicion.

As she reached into her cleavage she pulled out a room key and moved to open the door. He was at her back almost instantly, grinding his hips against hers, his lips peppering kisses along her neck as she pretended to fumble with the key a little.

Swallowing hard, she opened the door and nearly fell over were it not for him, ironically. Quickly though he turned her around and kissed her roughly. The doors slipped closed behind them. His hands slid under her dress and pulled it up as he pushed her towards the bed, his lips never leaving hers.

 _Spirits, hurry it up._ She thought to herself, knowing that Stick was monitoring the situation from the adjacent room. There was only so much embarrassment and exhibitionism she wanted to show her boys.

As she was pushed back onto the bed and he started to climb over her the doors slowly slid open and he was roughly pulled back a muscled arm locking over his throat, the other locking his twisted arm behind his back.

"You kriffin' schutta!" Jax growled, as Pel held him, Torn blocking the door, hand placed over his blaster.

Vala climbed off the bed, pulling her dress down again, "been called worse."

"The kriff do you want?" Rath struggled but to little avail, Pel's superior physical strength and skill easily held him immobilized.

"I want your factory access codes and your personal access codes." She stepped over to him. "We can do this the easy way, you tell me. Or the hard way, we make you tell me." Vala winked in some self satisfaction she couldn't escape.

"I ain't tellin' ye nuffin', schutta." He growled against Pel's hold.

Then he growled with pain as Pel's fist impacted his kidneys, hard.

She gripped his greasy hair and scowled a little at its feel as she pulled his head up. "Shall we try again?"

"Go kriff yourself!" He spat in her face, then growled again as Pel's fist greeted his kidney yet again.

Blinking slowly, Vala wiped the spit off of her face. "Very well, I'll take that as the option number two choice." She . "Hold him up."

Pel hoisted the man upright, using his solid frame to keep the weasel tightly secured to him.

She was never a proponent of using mind tricks to this degree. Sure, small deceptions to make people forget her and to misdirect but openly compelling people to reveal information was something else entirely and it delved into dark desires she knew she had to stay away from.

But needs must and if anyone found him overly bruised or worse, tortured, eyebrows would be raised to say the least. Worse even if he let on anything about their identities. So, focusing, she made motion with her hand in front of his face.

"You will tell me your factory access codes and your personal access codes." She said in an even, precise tone.

His face took on a vacant expression. " I will tell you my factory and personal access codes." Jax began slowly reciting the codes.

Her adrenaline was slowly ebbing which meant that the reality of things would soon kick in. That and they also had to hurry up and get out of there.

As Jax finished his recital, his expression remained vacant.

"Stick, did you get that?" Vala pressed on the small communication device in her ear.

 _Got it. You're good to cleansweep._ Came the reply.

Again, she waved her hand in front of his face, "you will forget you saw us. You will forget you gave us any codes. You slept with the local Mirialan girl as far as you remember. This was her room."

"I will forget I saw you. I will forget I have you any codes. I slept with the local Mirialan girl. This was her room." He obediently recounted.

Focusing her mind further she touched his forehead with her palm. "Fall asleep." She murmured softly.

Jax Rath slumped in Pel's arms, Torn moving to help him take Rath to the bed while Valanthe quickly stepped into the adjacent room where Stick was quickly bypassing the room's sensor feed. He briefly glanced at her as she passed him but said nothing. He was too embarrassed to say anything so he focused on the job at hand.

With a somewhat shaky breath she reached into one of the duffel bags and began quickly changing into more workable clothes. A pair of cargo pants, boots, a shirt and a jacket. She ran a quick comb through her hair and wiped off what make up she could. In a way she was grateful that Stick was avoiding looking at her or saying anything because she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

As she finished changing and dumped the dress and the rest of the outfit back into the duffel bag. Pulling out the sixth _shadow hologram_ and initiated its preset programming. She would emerge out of this room as a young, blonde human female on plain, local clothing.

As she stepped into the projection and clipped the device to her belt, she watched it adjust over her form. Pale, untatooed skin seemed so foreign to her. Pel and Torn joining them broke her out of her thoughts.

"Everything ready?" She asked, her voice coming out a soft drawl rather than her usual, crisp accent. This was the beauty of a _shadow hologram._ It changed the voice and readouts as well as the visual appearance.

"He's set up wake later, alone in bed thinking he drank himself into stupor." Said Pel, his voice a lot softer than the usual accent the clones sported.

Vala nodded, "alright, Stick give the exfil order, Burner and Aster first, then Pel and Torn, the I'll go. You exfil once we're outside of the Cantina perimeter and when the doctored recordings are in place. We meet at the safehouse in ."

The three men nodded and set about leaving the establishment at designated moments.

Vala exited the room second to last, mentally reaching out to see if there were people in the first floor lobby. Thankfully it was empty at the moment so she set to casually head on over to the lift. She entered it with no small amount of anxiety, memories of what happened literally moments before still so very fresh. Her heartbeat increased, slightly thundering in her ears.

 _It's over, calm down, calm down._ She chanted to herself, mentally urging the lift down faster.

As it finally came down, she took a deep breath and exited at a slow pace, the duffel bag she took from the room slung over her shoulder. She kept her head slightly down and didn't look at people, using the Force to make her presence unnoticable as she slithered past the crowd.

It was was a late hour of the night as she exited, looking across the road where several speeders were parked. Vala fished the ignition key out of her pocket and headed for a very old, rusty looking Aratech basic model. It's chassis was open, like on all of the vehicles of this particular model. The weathered look gave credence to the un-memorable look she was going for.

As she mounted it, she gave a cursory look around to see if she was perhaps being followed. Her senses didn't pick up on any danger so she turned the ignition key and brought the rust bucket to life. Adjusting the throttle she slowly made her way out it Sobrik, turning left on the intersection out of town, her destination the Sundari Flatlands.

Along the way, there were a few small, dotted farmhouses in the countryside. One of them them her unit had appropriated and secured several days ago. It had only the basic amenities. A refresher, two rooms and a kitchen/dining room/living room melded into one.

She parked the speeder behind the building and stepped around, knocking on the door in a pre-arranged sequence. Torn answered the door, checking behind her as she stepped inside.

"Who's here?" She asked as she stepped further in, depositing her duffel bag near the basic couch.

"All of us except Stick. He should be in soon." Said Burner as he stepped out of the refresher.

He and the others now finally looked like themselves. This would of course change again once they hammered out a plan of attack and moved in on the Factory.

Vala nodded, "you done in there?" Her tone was soft and she noticed Burner's attention shifting to her.

"Yeah, it's free, some water left still. You alright, Commander?" He looked at her suddenly deflated form as she turned the shadow generator off.

Her lilac eyes told him she was tired and possibly even a little broken which tugged at him. She looked a little ashamed too. All these feelings he as a clone knew too well, having to do things beyond a comfort level. Shameful, humiliating, frightening things. Yet to the outside world, they had to appear unphased. He was learning quickly that the same could easily apply to the Force wielders he and his brothers served with.

He stepped closer to the door a few minutes after she stepped inside when he thought he heard sounds from the bathroom. It sounded like sobbing? He wasn't entirely certain.

He knocked on the door. "You alright, Commander?" He asked again.

After a few moments of no replies, he looked over at his brothers, eyebrows raised. What should he do? They were never trained how to deal with a crying female. How would one handle this situation?

The others more or less helplessly shrugged at him equally as uncertain. Burner however knew he had to do something because they needed her head back in the game.

"Commander, I'm coming in!" He called.

No reply was given. So Burner took a deep breath, pressed the lock open and stepped into a steamed up room. The door slid closed behind him quickly.

The green skinned former Jedi was wrapped up in a towel, on her knees, her hands on the toilet seat. By the glistening of her skin he could tell that she'd been in the shower. Now, she seemed to be dry heaving and crying.

He realized then that she was finally processing what had happened and dealing with the disgusting molestation she had to endure for the sake of the mission.

It was strange to him that now more than ever, he felt a kinship with the woman and a deep understanding. He knelt next to the sobbing female and gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Vala…" he said softly, silently marveling at how soft her skin seemed to be underneath his fingers. This was one of the rare times that they got this close and personal.

She grabbed a smaller towel from a nearby bag and wiped her mouth and her eyes with the clean side. The look in her eyes almost broke him as she turned to face him. He gingerly reached around her as he settled into a sitting pose and pulled her gently towards him. It surprised him a bit that she was compliant after how she was handled today but eventually, she leaned sideways against him, face buried into his neck.

He didn't quite know what to say, or where exactly to place his arms and hands so he kept them around her shoulder level as her shoulders shook. He could feel his shirt getting wet so he assumed she was crying again.

"It's okay, Commander. It's over, you did great." He said finally, leaning his head against hers.

Slowly after a few more minutes her sobs slowly subsided.

Before either could say more however, the earbud in Burner's ear came to life.

 _Burner, Stick. We just got a coded transmission from the 212th and the 501st._ Stick's voice held urgency.

Burner lifted his head. "What's the message?"

 _Kamino's under attack by General Grievous and the Separatist forces._


	5. Chapter 5: What Price Mission?

**A/N:** Big thanks to my beta's ( **NixNox** , **Asami** and **Tyren** ) for helping me polish this chapter. Hopefully you guys will like it. This sets the stage for certain further developments and some favorite chars will be making more regular appearances from now on. Also, rest assured, all loose ends will be tied in the next few chapters. Didn't want to overfill an already long chapter with too many information strings.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

* * *

 _ ***~*Previously:**_

" _ **Kamino's under attack by General Grievous and the Separatist forces."*~***_

Vala could sense her Second In Command tense up. Pulling back she looked at him, "Burner, what's happened?"

He blinked slowly, snapping out of shock. "Commander?" Instinct kicked back in.

"Something's happened…" The Mirialan stated, placing a green hand on his upper arm.

"It's the Seppies, sir. They've attacked Kamino. Our home…" He replied in barely controlled anger.

"Go to your brothers." Vala urged as she slowly got to her feet, her stiff, cold muscles making her legs wobble a bit.

"Are you alright?" He had to make sure she was alright before he attended his brothers.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go. I'll join you in a moment." She flashed him a smile and a nod, feeling sympathy at the sudden distress he wasn't sure how to deal with.

He exited the refresher with a nod. Now the roles would need to be quickly reversed, she knew. They were there for her, albeit awkwardly and with lack of experience, she could do no less.

Pushing her own uncomfortable feelings aside, she quickly ran a towel through her black hair, which now fell in layers over her shoulder blades, and put her clothes back on. She hastily tidied up the refresher, made sure she looked decent enough and stepped back into the main room.

Immediately, she was almost overwhelmed by the intensity of emotion swirling in the among her men. Fear, concern, anger, confusion.

"Burner! Vod, we need to go help them." Aster growled, squeezing Burner's shoulder roughly.

Pel, the soft toned of the group gestured with his arms, "our home is being attacked. We have to do something."

Stick, from the communications desk nodded, "Burner, they're right."

Only Torn remained standing to the side, arms crossed, observing the quarrel between his brothers. Yes, he wanted to go help his home planet, yes he wanted to help his brothers. All five of them did, but that would mean abandoning the mission. Would they even make it off the planet and to Kamino in time? Would the Commander go with them or would she stay and finish the mission herself? Could she even do it alone?

It was almost overwhelming what she felt from them. With her own frayed emotions, she was literally forced to sit down under the sheer weight of her clones' feelings. She leaned against a crate in the back of the room, pinching the bridge of her nose. Vala also wanted to let them vent their immediate frustrations so that they'd be more open to conversation when she did step in.

"Aster, we _can't!_ We _have_ to finish the mission. The mission comes first, you _know this!_ " Burner pushed Aster's hand away, trying to control his own rising fury at the situation. He was their boss and he needed to keep them under control, yet at the same time he completely understood them.

Duty however had to outweigh loyalty to the only family they'll ever know, themselves, sad as that was.

Aster wouldn't be swayed however, so he punched Burner in the shoulder, " _kark_ the mission, vod! We won't find anything at Balmorran Arms that we haven't found at the others and you know this! It's a wild bantha chase!"

"Fierfek, stow that kark, Aster! We are _not_ abandoning the mission!" Burner's self control slowly frayed.

Stick stood up from the comms console, placing his hand in Aster's shaking shoulder while Pel silently moved behind them as well. Torn on the other hand moved behind Burner, coiled to act. The Mirialan realized they were about to come to blows and this was the first time she wasn't sure how to act since she started working with them. Should she let them go at it? Or should she step in and be their boss?

"You karkin' piece of fek!" Pel's exclamation followed by sounds of hitting brought her out of her self doubt.

Burner was on the floor taking hits from an unusually angry Pel, Torn and Aster were in a grapple with Stick trying to pull Aster off of Torn.

She let it go for a few more moments in order to let them bleed out their anger. However, it didn't seem to work, in fact it only seemed to get worse. So she stood up and using the Force lifted Pel off of Burner. It seemed to have the desired effect as the two seemed too shocked to continue their scuffle.

"Aster, Torn! That's enough!" The Mirialan bellowed as she stepped closer to them.

Burner and Pel watched from the floor, somewhat shocked that the other three weren't listening to their commander.

"I said enough!" Valanthe barked again, making motions with both her arms, and pulled Aster and Torn apart.

Stick jumped away as Aster flew back, both he and Torn suspended in mid air but unharmed.

"Are you gentlemen done?" Her tone was calm but laced with an undercurrent of annoyance.

Men seemed to be men, genetically engineered or not.

"Y-yes, sir!" "Sorry, sir." "Won't happen again, sir!" They chorused as their control returned to them.

With a sigh far more dramatic than she felt, Vala set the two down and observed them for a moment.

Torn was positively ashamed of his and his brothers' behavior, Stick felt both shame and guilt. Aster and Pel were still seething but managed to rein themselves in. Some of Pel's anger shifted to her however, almost as if he was upset she interfered. Burner, he was a surprisingly blank slate to her. Iron clad control, mental walls up, he radiated no feeling at all, glowering at his men now that he'd stood up.

Her tone remained calm, commanding and even as she observed the identical yet indescribably unique men. "Sit."

As much as she hated acting like it, she realized that sometimes she did need to be the proverbial drill sergeant. Slowly each of them sat where they could, visibly leery of each other.

One by one they slowly turned their attention to her. Once she was certain their focus was finally on her, she crossed her arms under her chest and spoke.

"I know you're worried about your home." Vala said softly, "it's a completely normal feeling."

Stick's guilt and shame pinged in her sensory net that she kept on them.

"I know you _all_ want to go. Make no mistake I want to go too." Uncurling her arms she spread them in a helpless shrug as her lilac eyes darted among them. "Let's break the situation down, alright?"

Vala started pacing in front of them, listing reasons on her fingers, "one, we would need to abandon the mission." One finger down, "two we would need to sneak out of here and acquire a transport." Another finger down, "three, assuming we make this, which will take us at least a day, it will take us two days to reach Kamino." Yet another finger down, "so by the time we actually do reach Kamino, the battle will have been over."

She stopped momentarily to assess them. Anger was slowly seeping away from all of them, replaced by shame.

"So, what do you think the _first_ thing the 212th and the 501st will tell us when we arrive will be? Anyone?" Her tone was still calm but it grew somewhat pointed.

"They'll ask why we abandoned our mission, why we didn't trust them." Burner sighed, rubbing his face with his hand.

Valanthe pointed a finger at him and nodded, "exactly. Let's not even mention the fact that these are Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker's people. So the elite. Do you _really_ think they, of all people, would let something happen to Kamino?"

"No, sir. They _are_ the best." Torn added, sighing as well, his head down, fingers wringing together.

"Aside from us, of course," the corners of her lips uplifted as she allowed her face to soften.

This elicited a touch of lightheartedness among her boys as they wholeheartedly agreed.

"So what do you say we finish the mission and get off of this rock. Then we'll gather all intel we can on what happened with Kamino." Vala continued, "you need to have faith, lads. We can't save everyone, but we're also not the only ones doing the saving. We need to trust our friends and brothers that they will do what needs to be done.

Her heart went out to them. Faced with emotions they rarely faced, the very real fear that something will happen to the only home they know, to their brothers stationed there. It was an intense storm that rolled off of Valanthe's mental shields. Part of her wanted to take the pain from them. The more rational part of her knew they needed to learn to deal with them, because this situation was by far not the worst they'd ever face.

She was rustled out of her thoughts by hardy agreement from them. "I would feel the same way if this was happening to Mirial. But I would do my duty regardless. Can I count on you to help me do the job we came to do and make the boys defending Kamino proud?"

Riis straightened to full height, hands clasped behind her back in her best _Commander_ pose.

"Sir, yes sir!" The five men said as one as they too stood up at perfect attention.

The woman in the room smiled, "good. Let's get settled in and get some rest, tomorrow we head to scout the factory. I estimate a two day case of the place, a night for insertion and objective completion, a day or two to lay low and reach a suitable LZ, call in exfil and wait. A week at most and we're away. Everyone clear on the objectives?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The chorus went around again.

Vala nodded, "alright, I'll leave you to it, but no more scuffles."

Sheepish grins were enough of a reply for her as she headed outside to perform a perimeter sweep, to make sure they weren't watched.

She used her Force abilities to meld with the night shadows, making herself barely seen or detected, masking her visual appearance as well as her scanner signal practically indistinguishable.

Having found no signs of detection or danger, she returned to the house, slipping in quietly. Such masking techniques always took a lot out of her due to the high focus that was needed to keep the mask up. As she was about to slip into her room, Burner stepped over to her, having been on watch duty for the last few hours.

"I wanted to say thanks, Commander." He whispered quietly as they stood at the door.

A delicate eyebrow rose in question.

"For talking sense into us like we were people, not mindless flesh machines. You could have just as easily ordered us." He offered an explanation, a slight darkening of his tan cheeks reflecting slight discomfort.

She smiled tiredly at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You _are_ people, Burner. You always _have_ been to me. Always will." Vala said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

There was a brief hesitation, in response from the man. Vala could sense he was torn between a physical reaction, whether it was rude or not to step away, and a verbal reaction.

She focused on a sense of calm and projected it onto him, hopefully indicating to him that he didn't have to shy away. It seemed to have the desired effect as he slowly put his other hand on her's and squeezed a little. To boot, he ventured a smile which came out very shy.

"Thanks...Vala." He managed finally.

The Mirialan pulled her hand away with a nod and a smile, before stepping into her small room. Burner stood there outside the door for a moment, relishing in the momentary calm that had washed over him before returning to resume his watch post.

* * *

The night for her was a restless one. Images and sensations flooded back from the operation, the disgust and shame they brought with it. A subconscious fear seeped into her dreams where the lift never really opened and let them out. She was forced to endure the full sexual encounter then and there, then was pulled by Rath over to the room.

Thankfully her dreams had stopped in time and she'd woken up, tired and quite frazzled. Unwilling to go back to sleep with how she was feeling, she instead turned to meditation. Something she hadn't done in a long while.

It was in meditation that the morning found her. So, when she finally emerged, ready for action, she looked the way she felt, bone tired. Thankfully no one had said anything, though she knew they'd noticed the state she was in. Bags under her eyes, her skin a paler green hue, somewhat saggy hair and a generally slightly hunched posture.

The trip to the Sundari flatlands to the east of the farm was a slow, quiet one as they moved in a scattered formation, the boys with their shadow generator disguises on, while Valanthe called on the Force to hide her presence. They remained out of sight most of the day, monitoring the change-over of people, locating suitable individuals to incapacitate and create new disguises out of their visual scans, as well as noting down security patterns and change-overs.

During the night they laid down insertion plans and hacked local networks and news to identify their new covers and get as much intel on them as possible.

The following day they snatched their targets, dosing them with a very potent tranquilizer, leaving Pel to guard them. While the boys held their composure, she could sense their worry wearing and tearing at them internally. It had been nearly a week since they'd heard anything about Kamino, as they'd gone into a so called comms-dark mode when the last leg of their operation began.

Valanthe would go in as Shara Tang, a human system's administrator and assistant to Jax Rath. Stick would go as a fellow technician Juran Den. Aster, Torn and Burner would pose as janitorial and security personnel.

All five had a night shift slotted which worked in the group's favor considerably. With their new disguises on via the shadow generator, Vala and Stick, aka Shara and Juran walked into the factory as casually as they dared, showing their credentials and being scanned for hidden weaponry. The other three would make entry in single file during the course of the evening to avoid suspicion.

Vala used her senses to monitor the reactions of the passing employees and guards as they headed for the main design facility. It was lucky Stick was _that_ good with technology and that Vala knew how to _persuade_ people to tell her things else they wouldn't know where to go.

The factory was a huge complex, definitely huge enough to house a shipment of battle droids without anyone being the wiser, especially via aerial reconnaissance.

" _Red 3, on site."_ A quiet comm from Aster sounded off in their ears.

Vala and Stick didn't verbally acknowledge, instead she gently tapped her earbud in a manner as if she would scratch the inside of her earlobe. The single ping would serve as recognition of the contact.

Slowly, they made it towards the design building. Shara Tang's office was next to Jax Rath's office. It was also fortunate that she, as one of his assistants had access to his office. To avoid suspicion,she first entered her own office, going through the necessary scans. Fortunately the shadow holograms were so thorough that they gave off the necessary readings as well.

Casually she sat at her desk and turned her work console on. With all three sets of codes they could gain access to a lot of information.

"Red 6, I'm clear," she muttered under breath, through her teeth.

" _Red 4, establishing connection,"_ a moment of silence, _"established. Searching."_ Stick reported as he settled at Juran Den's station.

Once Stick downloaded the data they needed and established if the Factory was indeed conducting nefarious contracts against Republic interests, they would release a virus into the design lab mainframe and put the Factory out of commission, even if for a little while.

As Stick worked his tech magic, Valanthe pretended to go through the files while she scanned through the Force if somebody caught on to their game. So far they were mostly left to their devices. Valanthe made a show of transferring data onto an info-tablet in preparation for her entry into Rath's office as only his work desk had access to the full stock of the Factory's holds. From there she would unlock access to Juran Den's console so Stick could upload the virus.

" _Red 4, ready on my end."_ Stick sounded off after a while.

"Red 6, acknowledged. Moving to next stage."Vala responded through half closed lips.

" _Red 3, all clear." "Red 5, clear." "Red 1, ready."_ Aster's, Torn's and Burner's replies filtered through after several moments.

Valanthe pretended to smooth out her outfit and grabbed the info-tablet. With casual business purpose she exited her office and stepped over to Rath's. She calmly keyed in the access codes and stepped inside.

From this moment on she couldn't speak as his office was under surveillance, so she would have to rely on Stick coordinating everyone. Sitting at Rath's desk she keyed in his master access code, then set to work on unlocking access to Den's console, via code string rather than direct access so as to avoid getting noticed on the security footage. Luckily, Stick had made her memorize the commands she had to enter as she wasn't as adept at computer programming and hacking as he was. She _was_ however a very fast learner.

" _Red 4, I have access. Uploading. Red 6, affect exit strategy."_ Stick's calm commanding tone sounded off in her ear a minute later.

Valanthe pretended to download data from the info-tablet to Rath's desk console. After another minute she shut it down and calmly exited his office, heading towards the designated cafeteria.

" _Red 4, uploaded. Time to execution, 10 minutes. Exfiltrating."_ She heard Stick's announcement.

Burner's voice filtered through next, _"Red 1, initiating distraction."_

Sure enough a few moments later, a hazard alarm sounded off.

"What's going on?" Valanthe asked in her Shara Tang guise, putting on a surprised mannerism and expression.

"I don't know, Doctor Tang, it's a hazard alarm, we should proceed with the evacuation protocol." One of the junior designers commented as the cafeteria crowd started filing out of the room towards the Factory exit.

A few corridors down, near the exit, she noticed Stick in his guise step over doing his best to look surprised. "Juran, any idea what the hazard was?"

"No, Doctor, I was heading for the lavatory when it sounded off, I was planning to ask Security when we got out." Stick replied with a heavy Corellian accent.

"I sincerely hope it's not in the assembly line," Valanthe added, as they both kept up pretense of concerned employees.

The crowds slowly gathered outside the factory, each member of the team announcing when they were out. Once they were melded into the crowd and alone, each making their way towards the exit, they slowly left the Factory boundaries within the ten minutes given before the virus would deploy through the Factory systems.

Valanthe, sans her Shara Tang outfit had taken to the comfort of the Force shadows. As she got onto the main road, the ground beneath her feet shook. She turned around towards the direction she'd felt it from and was surprised. Smoke billowed from the east end of the factory, and it seemed to have lost power in that section as well.

" _That is quite a distraction, Burner."_ She thought to herself amusedly as she watched the commotion for a few moments. _"While they are focused on the explosion, the virus propagates and disables the droids."_

Shaking her head amusedly at the ingenuity of her clones, Valanthe slowly headed for their safehouse to release the Force brainwashed hostages whose visages they'd taken on, and to retrieve Pel. The rest of the group would make for the exfil site on the very western end of Gorinth Canyon, Moraine's Territory. Pretty much the very opposite end of the planet. Once there they would signal for an evacuation.

When she arrived to the safehouse, she'd found Pel on vigilant guard, albeit a bit bored. The hostages were knocked out by locally bought pharmaceutical drugs. She helped him wipe the house and surrounding area of any trace of them ever having been there before they unbound the five. They had arranged them in a manner to appear they'd had a drunk orgy and fell asleep in states of near or full undress.

Once they were satisfied of the scene, the Mirialan and the Clone made their own way towards Moraine's Territory. On the way they'd heard various news of the explosion in the Factory and even a few unconfirmed rumours that the droid assembly may have been somehow affected. Over and over, Valanthe became amazed at the ingenuity of the people many others considered no more than flesh droids.

It took them almost the entire evening and well into the morning to reach an abandoned storehouse beside a crumbling farm on the far end of Moraine's.

"Red 2 and Red 6 on approach."Vala spoke without having to hide her moving lips finally.

" _Red 3, I have you in sight. Were you followed?"_ Aster replied back as he kept watch through a sniper somewhere atop of the building.

"Negative, Red 3. We're clear."Pel replied as he periodically checked behind them as they moved.

" _Understood, Red 2. Welcome back."_

They soon reached the building and slipped inside.

"Everyone alright?" Valanthe's first question, as always, making sure her boys were unharmed.

Burner allowed a small smile as he emerged from the back room, "we're all fine, Commander. You two?"

Riis nodded as she unclasped the shadow hologram generator from her belt and initiated a wipe of programmed visuals, Pel doing the same with his.

"I don't know what you did, but it worked, the eastern block of the Factory was the focus point of their attention, the explosion was large enough to knock out that part of their power grid." Vala said as she ruffled her hair a bit.

"Am I good or am I good?" Torn poked his head through the side door where Burner had come from.

Vala and Pel chuckled at that. She was a little surprised, considering Torn always having been the quiet, background type.

"That was you? Nice!" She grinned at Torn who promptly blushed and slipped back into the room.

Vala sobered up quickly enough as Burner stepped over to her, "from what Stick's been able to decrypt, there's definite evidence that BAF is in bed with the Techno Union. They bought them a couple of months back."

"That only proves they bought a Factory not that they're funding the CIS sadly," She sighed.

Burner nodded, crossing his arms on his chest, "well at least we halted their droid production for a while."

A nod from the Mirialan as she stepped over to the side room, "Stick, any word on when a ride is being sent?"

The techie of the group grinned at her, "the _Resolute_ is sending someone, they should be here in the next couple of hours."

"Alright, let's make sure we're still here when they arrive. Secure all gear, be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Stick, I hope that wasn't all there was to decrypt?" Valanthe turned so she could face everyone.

"Oh no, there's loads on there still." Stick motioned to strings of code.

"Alright, you'll finish that when we're shipside. Let's patch into the news and see what's what. They'll be looking for culprits if they figure out the Five really haven't done it." Stick nodded as Torn fiddled with an info-tablet of his own, pulling up news bulletins.

"It looks like they're still running around headless, no mention of Tang or Den yet." Burner commented as he stepped over to watch.

Valanthe nodded as she picked up a water canteen and took a long gulp, having realised just how incredibly thirsty she was.

Suddenly she felt it, a gentle tickle in the back of her mind. A presence, firm but faint. It was slowly getting stronger. It almost _waved_ at her.

She only then realized she'd stopped mid sip, looking far ahead but at nothing in particular.

"Commander?" Burner didn't like the sudden stillness in their boss. Usually when she did that, shit tended to happen.

She seemed to snap out of it, looking over at him and Torn. "Something's coming."

That one small sentence snapped the men into quick action. Quickly and efficiently the gear was secured, tech shut down and the clones armed and ready to give hell.

Valanthe couldn't help a smirk as she unholstered her blaster, nowadays a weapon she was more comfortable with than a lightsaber, which was securely fastened to the back of her belt.

They each took cover and waited for Aster to sound off as he'd be the first to actually see incoming people.

" _Incoming. Looks like a Corellian G9 Rigger freighter."_ Aster's voice came through their comms.

The description made very little sense to them. Was the _Resolute_ sending mercenaries? Or was this disgruntled locals? _Not the locals,_ Valanthe surmised as the presence she felt drew nearer. It was somehow familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

" _They're landing in thirty seconds."_ Aster reported.

"All Reds hold, be ready to engage on my mark." Vala instructed as the small group waited for the ship to land.

It landed exactly in thirty seconds, the back ramp lowering. A man in a dark outfit stepped down the ramp, followed by three clone troopers in what looked like Advanced Recon Commando armour. One of them had a sort of semi pauldron and what she was taught were called Jaig Eyes painted on his helmet. The other two had full pauldrons, slightly more coloured armour, gray and blue in particular. Their helmets had a different blue painted design on each.

"Cassandra!" The man in dark, Jedi like robes called.

Cassandra was her callsign and was given as identifier to for the rescue party to use.

Valanthe got up from her cover and stepped out with some caution regardless. The presence she'd felt was quite obviously the Jedi-lookalike. If was so very familiar.

The three troopers behind him trained their weapons at her reflexively.

"You're outnumbered and out positioned." She said in warning.

"What's the matter, Riis. Don't recognise me?" The man spread his arms and indicated for his men to lower their weapons.

As he stepped to within a meter of her, recognition kicked in. The eyes, the hair, the crooked smile. He'd changed so much since she'd last seen him. His force signature was much more...darkened.

"Anakin Skywalker!" Vala chuckled as she holstered her blaster, "well look at you, finally a Knight!"

He chuckled, "Valanthe Riis, still claiming you're not one, hm?" The Jedi winked at her goodnaturadely then pointed at the men next to him. "This is the CO of the 501st Torrent Company and my Second in Command, "Captain Rex."

The clone with the Jaig Eyes, nodded at her, "sir."

"And these are…" Anakin began but was interrupted by Valanthe.

"Fives? Echo?" Now that she was close she remembered the Force signatures of two very eager Cadets back on Kamino.

"Good to see you again, Commander." Fives chuckled. "How could you tell?"

"The Force is a curious ally." She replied with a grin as she signalled her own men to stand down and approach. "We should get out of here and we'll brief you en route."

Anakin nodded, "alright, load up your gear and we'll get out of here."

Valanthe nodded to her own, still somewhat cautious men. Burner took the lead as they approached the group and were lead into the Corellian Rigger, officially named Twilight.


	6. Chapter 6: Ways Of Looking At It

**A/N:** Apologies for the delay everyone, have had some net and computer issues. Here's a new chapter for ya'll, filled with some of our TCW favorites. I only hope I did 'em justice. More to come in the future chapters ;)

Big thanks to **NixNox** , **Tyren** and **Asami** , my wonderful beta's as always.

* * *

 *****Twilight Cockpit*****

Valanthe and Anakin stepped into Twilight's cockpit, while both their clone detachments remained in the ship's cargo hold. Anakin settled into the pilot's seat while the Mirialan remained standing, observing the young man that evolved from the young boy she remembered.

She had been a young Knight, barely out of her own Trials when Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi brought a young boy from Tatooine. Older than most younglings nearing Padawan age, untrained, uneducated yet insanely talented. Master Jinn's claim that this young boy, Anakin Skywalker was _The Chosen One_ seemed as far fetched then as it seemed today, yet there was no denying that Anakin had grown into someone very important, almost larger than life, if his strong and exuberant Force presence and war record were anything to go by.

She hadn't officially met the young General until he was taken on by the newly Knighted Obi-Wan Kenobi as a Padawan. Obi-Wan, young and and newly knighted as she herself was was a good friend who'd confided in her of his uncertainties. The abrupt loss of his own Master had left him with a gaping feeling of low self worth. The boy from Stewjon didn't think he had it in him to train one who had been prophecized would bring Balance to the Force. Valanthe, a student of Tera Sinube, having been taught to always question yet at the same time trust in the will of the Living Force had little advice for him back then, having had her own self doubts about her place within the Jedi. If he'd asked her the same today, she would tell him to trust in the Force, not into imprecise scribbles of ancients.

That Anakin was terribly lonely was her first impression of him. He was eager to belong, to be accepted, respected, loved. There was also someone he'd deeply missed, that was clear as the Force that surrounded them. Later on she'd learned it had been his mother who had stayed in slavery on Tatooine. Over the next few years that she remained in the Jedi Order she saw both the boy from Tatooine and the boy from Stewjon grow closer together and evolve.

Now before her sat a young, confident, even slightly cocky Jedi Knight. From what she could sense, Obi-Wan had managed to fulfill his Master's dying request. That dark shadow over Anakin's Force signature however somewhat concerned her. She would have to talk to Obi-Wan when she got the chance.

"Admiring the view?" Skywalker's teasing tone broke through her thoughts. He'd caught her reminiscing, his entire amused being echoed it.

Her lilac eyes blinked and she smiled a little, "I'm just taking it all in. I haven't seen you since Coruscant eight years ago. You were still a Padawan back then, tall, gangly and ever hating to meditate."

"Yeeeah, that was a really long time ago. I've come to appreciate the benefits of meditation." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, "especially lately that I have to teach it to my own Padawan."

Dark eyebrows shot up in surprise, "you have a Padawan?"

He beamed proudly, grinning as he spoke of her. "Trust me I was as shocked as you are now when Master Yoda sent her to Christophsis to relay a message from the Council to Obi-Wan and I. But she's...you'll meet her when we get to the _Resolute._ "

"What's her name?" Valanthe asked with a soft smile. The affection and pride in him were palpable.

"Ahsoka Tano, she's a little feisty, cocky, reckless Togruta." He smirked, finally looking over at her as the Twilight broke atmosphere of the planet.

"So, a female, alien, you." The Mirialan couldn't help a teasing smirk.

This elicited a deep laugh in him and a a full fledged grin. "You know, I missed your ability to state the truth and get away with it, Valanthe." He said finally.

"Did the Jedi get even more politically correct since I left?" The question left her lips before she could stop herself.

He punched in a few commands to his console, "you'll soon see for yourself." Everything about him, however, screamed _yes_.

There was however also a sense of him collecting himself, mind warping back to the subject at hand, her mission.

"Have you been briefed on the nature of my mission?" She asked, accepting the need to change the subject.

"We were told you and your team had the task of ascertaining whether or not Balmorra is supplying droid units to the Separatists." Anakin nodded as he turned back to the flight controls.

Valanthe nodded, crossing her arms on her chest as she remained standing behind and to the right of his seat.

"From what we can tell from the data Stick managed to decrypt so far, Troida and Okara are pro-Republic, but Balmorran Arms have been bought by the Techno Union. That in itself doesn't spell out Separatist controlled however." She said finally. "There's a lot of data we pulled, though. My guys are digging and will continue to dig. If it's there, we'll find it."

"What do you think the likelyhood is that they aren't supplying the Separatists?" Anakin glanced over as he initiated a hyperspace jump and swiveled his chair so he could look at her.

"Negligible. The models we saw in there are models being used in the front lines." She admitted, sighing, "but unless we have proof they're directly supplying the separatists, with their claim of neutrality, we can't touch them within the Senate. The burden of proof is on us. Otherwise, it's our word against theirs. Meanwhile their droids keep mowing through our men."

"So, how'd you pull it off?" He couldn't help his own curiosity, she could tell.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you, Skywalker." Vala smirked at his mocked disappointment.

He knew the necessity of classified information.

"We should rendezvous with the _Resolute_ within thirty minutes. I assume the brass and the Councill will want to talk to you and your boys." He said after a moment's silence.

Valanthe nodded, "I'll need to send the data back to RMOI analysts to dig through. We don't have the necessary facilities on the Venator classes to do a through decryption and analysis."

As the tension of the last month or so ebbed away a thought came up. _Kamino._

"Anakin, a week ago we got an encrypted message that Kamino got attacked by Grievous…"

He raised a hand to stop her with a smile. Momentarily, she frowned as she realized one of his hands was different than the other. One was metallic?

"Kamino's safe. There _were_ casualties but within tolerable limits. The clones performed admirably. Fives and Echo were promoted to ARC troopers as you can see, they're part of the 501st now. We were ferrying them back to Kamino after a training exercise when your exfil request came in." He said with a chuckle at her obvious, confused facial expression.

"I'm sorry...I have to ask, what happened to your hand?" She couldn't help the question as she nodded her acknowledgement of his information.

"Dooku, Geonosis." His face darkened with his clipped reply. His Force signature grew a touch more shaded in conjuction with his expression.

Vala nodded slowly. "I'm sorry."

He waved it off, though the expression on his face echoed how much it bothered him still.

"Can you arrange a secured communication channel to RMOI HQ for us, please?" Vala switched gears.

Skywalker nodded, tapping in a several commands.

* * *

 *****Twilight Cargo Bay, concurrently*****

As their Jedi stepped into the cockpit, all the clones took off their helmets and looked at each other.

"Captain," Burner stepped over to Rex, a burning question on his mind.

Rex, the one with Jaig eyes on his helmet and bleached buzz cut, looked over at the red haired clone.

"What's your name, trooper?" Rex asked, taking in the spook.

"Lieutenant Burner, sir. Commander Riis' 2IC." Burner nodded at the acknowledgement. He felt a little humbled and a little honoured to be in the presence in the legendary leader of the 501st. He hoped that some day he would have a similar reputation.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Rex could see the anxiety in the Lieutenant's eyes.

"Sir, what's happened with Kamino? We've had no word since we got the message from the 212th and the 501st. With the comm-dark we couldn't press for intel." Burner shuffled his helmet against his his arm over it, much like the others did.

"We drove those karkin Seppies right off our home." Fives chimed in, grinning. "The pale assassin and General Grievous wanted the Fett DNA. We made damn sure they knew they couldn't have it."

Aster sighed behind Burner, "wish we could have been there."

Burner's jaw clenched as did his wrists. There was that argument again. "Stow it, Aster. We've been through this."

"There was no way you would have been allowed to compromise your mission. Regulation 357 of the Intelligence Field Operations codebook states that," Echo stepped over, wanting to cite a certain regulation.

"What he means is, you would have fierfekked your mission and been late for the party. Then you would have been in kark with GAR Command...well and us." Fives interrupted, used to Echo's ingrained need to state regulations. Somehow he didn't feel the spook squad needed to have the boom thrown at them after being undercover for so long.

At Echo's indignant glare he send him an apologetic look which seemed to pacify his ARC brother.

Aster didn't reply, but the stone expression on his face and the tightness of his jaw and posture spoke that he still didn't agree with them. He didn't dare argue with an ARC knew he shouldn't argue with his Lieutenant either, but it was somehow different as Burner often didn't act like a leader that he was supposed to be but rather one of the men.

Burner nodded at Fives and Echo in thanks for their support however clumsy it turned out to be.

"So," Burner finally gave the two ARC's a good look. "You two made ARC finally. Congratulations."

Fives reached out, placing an armoured hand placed it on Burner armour-less shoulder and squeezed a little. "Thank you, brother. I'm glad to see all of you made the spook cut too."

"Four of you are missing though," said Echo, "Blackie, Len, Vas and Slick? What happened to them?"

Rex's eyebrows shot up. He said nothing however, waiting for more information.

"Black, Len and Vas are on a different assignment. Slick...he..uh…" Burner rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"Slick washed out." Torn spoke up from the back.

At Rex's questioning look, he added, "Corporal Torn, sir."

Rex nodded for him to continue, "he lacked common sense and discipline, sir. The Commander and the Lieutenant didn't feel him qualified to withstand the requirements of our jobs. So he was shipped out to the 212th."

Burner had noticed Rex's frown. "Sir?"

This had Fives and Echo turning to face Rex as well. He looked from one clone to another, ARC to Intelligence Operative. Were they regular troopers he wouldn't tell them what had happened on Christophsis. But as ARCs and as IO's they all had a certain level of authorization.

"Slick was the one who stalled our efforts on Christophsis for a long time. He betrayed us to the Separatists. The pale assassin, Asajj Ventress," Rex sighed, "she managed to turn him. Now it makes sense how he managed to elude us for so long."

Burner had the good grace to look a little sheepish, "we trained him to be able to stay under the radar." He sighed. "The Commander is going to _love_ this. You got to the truth in the end though?"

"Just managed to save the heavy cannons. He'd rigged all our other artillery to blow. But Commander Cody and I managed to stop him in time. If he wasn't a traitor, I'd congratulate you on the training of him." Rex added.

The spook squad didn't feel it like a compliment. Learning that a brother, one they trained with betrayed them using the skills they all learned together, it didn't sit well at all with any of them.

Burner spoke up for what the group was feeling. "I'm sorry, sir. While I wish we could have caught the possibility of his betrayal, we could have nipped it in the bud."

Rex raised a hand to stop him, "couldn't be helped. Main thing is we got him."

"So, how _is_ it?" Fives asked, wanting to change an uncomfortable subject.

Burner arched an eyebrow in the ARC's direction.

"Serving with the Commander," Fives nodded his head lightly in the direction of the door. "She like the other Jedi females?"

Burner's eyes narrowed slightly at Fives. The rest of her squad tightened up around Burner as they stepped closer. Rex pressed his gloved palm to his face and sighed, having gotten used to Fives' lack of tact in certain things.

"Honestly," Burner opened, "if I didn't know she was a Force user, I'd never say she was a Jedi. Just a damn good operative. She...treats us as people."

Fives and Echo smiled. There was a faint smirk on Rex's lips too as he observed them.

"Part of us wonders what it'd be like if we'd stayed with you." Echo admitted. "Never served under a Lady Commanding Officer before. It must be interesting."

Fives chuckled. For all of his regulation obsession, there were times when people realized Echo was just a lot more subtler than them and not at all a thoughtless rock. Now was one of such times.

"It _can_ be, yeah." Pel chuckled, "you should have seen her outfit for one part of the...owww!" He doubled over suddenly as Stick elbowed him in the ribs.

Fives gave Pel a knowing look that clearly said, _we'll talk later._ Burner glared at Pel in a way that said, _you talk to him and I'll rip your tongue out._ So Pel shrugged and found the bulkhead above Rex suddenly interesting.

After what he'd witnessed in the refresher at the farm, Burner had developed a soft spot for the Commander though he viciously hid it. He'd come to learn that she's more like them than they had been flash trained to believe and as such felt very protective of the small green woman.

Before they could say more, the cargo bay doors opened, the said green woman stepping through with a tired smile.

"I've requested an emergency communique with RMOI HQ, we'll give our debrief once we arrive to the _Resolute._ Before we get too far into business, I wanted to thank you all for a job very well done." Vala said as she turned to her team. "We haven't had it easy, especially with the news we'd received about Kamino, but we have pulled through and completed our mission. I am proud of all of you. You've utilized your training admirably."

She could feel their slight embarrassment mixed in with happiness and pride at her words.

"Thank you, Commander. We just did our job," Burner said, ever humble, "we were lucky to have you there with us."

Rex, Fives and Echo watched the exchange with open curiosity but remained silent.

"All in the service of the Republic, eh?" Riis chuckled.

"Karkin right." Aster added, earning a collective hoot from the others.

She looked over at the three clones from the 501st. "How's the 501st treating you two?"

Rex raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face as he looked over at the two ARC's.

"Well we're in ARC training now, but so far it's great, Commander." Fives said, looking over at her. While serious, there was a hint of mischief behind his amber eyes.

He was at once highly focused and interested in knowing more, even a little playful. This in turn piqued her own interest, the open duality and intense sense of self. It was much more prominent than the sense she got from her own men.

"It's a great honour to be part of the 501st, sir." Echo added with a small smile.

The other ARC was almost the polar opposite of his brother. Calmer, more controlled, focused just the same. There was also a kind of softness of soul to Echo, almost as if he was there to balance out the fire that was Fives.

Rex seemed almost as if a proud father, beaming at his troopers' words inwardly, while outwardly, he simply nodded.

"And you Captain?" Vala finally turned to Rex.

He blinked a little, "sir?"

Vala asked again, "how do you find the 501st, Captain?"

Rex chuckled softly. "It's a challenge, sir. The General is not the other Jedi. I believe the word is unorthodox. So's Commander Tano. But I wouldn't have it any other way." There was a sort of fondness in his Force signature as he spoke of Skywalker's Padawan.

Vala smirked a little, wishing she had more time to ask all she wanted to know. She had many curious questions for the men so similar yet so varied at the same time.

"I'll see if I can arrange us all some leave after we're finished with the debrief." Vala then turned back to Burner and her boys.

Burner shook his head resolutely. "There's no need, Commander, we're good for a new mission, right lads?"

The others nodded eagerly.

Vala nodded, "we still need a break. Physically we may be fine, our heads though… I know you were designed to withstand any stress. Design is one thing, nature is another. Trust me on this one."

Burner seemed to understand and nodded. He always seemed to be able to understand her dispensed wisdom, or at least tried his best to understand it. It was a curious thing to her, as she knew Jedi reputation among the so called _common_ folks. Even though she wasn't a Jedi anymore, she never stopped being one in the eyes of some.

The atmosphere quieted down for the next fifteen minutes as each was left to their own thoughts. The _Twilight_ effortlessly glided into the _Resolute's_ fighter bay and landed. The clones and the Jedi stepped down the ramp and were greeted by two other Jedi and another trooper with yellow markings on his armour instead of the blue ones they'd seen so far.

The Jedi however brought a smile to Valanthe's face. The indescribable goodness and affection radiating from the sandy haired, bearded Jedi male was unmistakable. The other was a small, orange Togurta female.

"Obi-Wan!" The mirialan greeted with a grin.

Obi-Wan's face broke into a smile as well as he opened his arms. Valanthe stepped into the light embrace. "It is _good_ to see you again, old friend." He murmured softly.

She could clearly feel the surprise in everyone's signatures. Not so much at her own action but at such an open display of affection out of the usually calm and controlled Jedi General.

"You too, Obi-Wan. You too." Valanthe chuckled as they pulled back.

The Togruta girl observed them with open interest. Valanthe looked over at her with a smile, "You must be Anakin's Padawan? Ahsoka Tano?"

"That's right." The girl narrowed her bright blue eyes at her, "you're a strange Jedi."

There was a masked feeling behind her reply, which the three Jedi seemed to pick up on. "I am no longer one, Ms Tano. I'm just a spook."

"Right, well…" Obi-Wan interjected as Ahsoka was about to say more, "I believe you asked for a secure communication to RMOI, we have that set up for you. We can catch up more afterwards. My Second In Command, Marshall Commander Cody," he motioned towards the yellow marked clone who nodded, "will take you to a room we've prepared for you.

Valanthe nodded, "thank you, General Kenobi. I'll meet up with you later, then."

A small smile quirked his bearded lips upward as he nodded. "I shall see you then."

"This way, sir." Cody motioned.

The trek to the secured room was a fairly quiet one as each was lost in their own though. Well none more so than Valanthe. She could hear the faint chatter behind her of her boys.

"Go on in, Commander." Cody brought her out of her thoughts as he stood by the door and motioned inside. "I'll be out here if you need me."

Riis nodded, gathering her thoughts and focus. "Right, thank you Commander Cody. Alright boys, let's do this."

Five clones and a Mirialan walked into the room. Stick immediately went for the console to check if the encrypted channel was properly secured. As much as fleet claimed things were secure Vala and those she trained insisted on checking for themselves.

"We're secure, Commander." Stick announced.

Valanthe nodded, "alright, patch us in."

The holographic display formed into an image of a man in his late fifties, balding, with a thick moustache and light eyes. One could see he used to be in good form but age and disuse caught up to him.

"Gentlemen, this is my boss, Director of Republic Ministry Of Intelligence Field Ops, Xander Night." Valanthe introduced, "sir, this is my team. Well the Balmorra team. My 2IC, Lieutenant Burner, Sergeant Aster, Corporals Pel, Torn and Stick."

The man nodded, "Riis, gentlemen, before we go on I need to patch in the GAR Intel Assistant Director as this is a co-op mission so we are sharing Intel with our Military brethren. This is Admiral Telth."

An image of a tall, gangly, red Twi'lek man dressed in an Admiral's uniform appeared as Night's holo image grew smaller to accommodate space for two.

The clones by reflex stood at attention immediately and barked. "Sir!"

The Twi'lek waved it off. "At ease."

"We're ready to make our report, sirs." Vala crossed her hands behind her back, looking at the two men.

"Proceed." Night motioned.

In turn, Valanthe and Burner began to recount the Balmorra mission, from preparations, to infiltration, to tactics used for inspection of each individual factory. When they came to the Sobrik and Balmorran Arms Factory part of the debrief the mood in the room darkened.

The mirialan spoke in clipped, even tones as she recounted her role as the honeytrap for Jax Rath, the Foreman. She could feel Burner's rising ire, but thankfully he'd held it in and pushed through the debrief with the level of professionalism she'd expected of him.

When they reached the infiltration of the Balmorran Arms Factory, Stick chimed in as it had the most technical aspects to it. He proceeded to explain in depth the type and design of the programs and spikes he used to data mine the factory's systems. Burner and Torn explained how they created the diversion that had the factory evacuated and later half of it destroyed, the production line disabled.

"So, you managed to retrieve the data on their computer mainframe _and_ disable their droid production line?" Admiral Telth chimed in.

Valanthe nodded, "yes, sir. It's a stop gap measure, to be sure, but if it saves a few lives, we pulled a good thing."

"An impressive feat for a fresh, mix'n'match unit such as yours, Commander." The Twi'lek added. "Excellent work everyone."

"Thank you, sir," went around in a chorus.

"What's our next step, Director?" Riis looked over at her friend and commanding officer.

"We need that data brought to Coruscant for our analysts to look at ASAP. Select two of your men to bring it to Coruscant, to GAR HQ. From there on, RMOI will coordinate with the GAR." Night said.

Valanthe raised an eyebrow. GAR taking over a RMOI mission? Splitting up her team further?

"Your remaining men will make his way to Felucia to rejoin the rest of your team as soon as possible." Telth supplied, seemingly noticing her inquisitive look.

Both eyebrows now arched, "and myself, sir?" She directed that question at Night, as she didn't answer to the GAR directly.

"You will remain on the _Resolute_ for the time being. You are in a perfect position to both serve as RMOI eyes on the front lines as well as assisting Skywalker and Kenobi where needed with your skills." Night said in a tone that to her indicated that he hoped she'd not ask questions now. She would definitely ask some later.

So, she nodded. "Once my men deliver the intel?"

"They'll receive further instruction on site." Telth said.

Valanthe didn't like this, not at all. One successful mission and already they split them up, several ways, to boot.

"Questions?" Director Night asked.

Burner raised his hand, "I have one, sir. I understand the assignments warrant splitting up, but will we be reassigned back together? The men and the Commander, I mean. We are a good team with a good track record."

"Eventually, Lieutenant. We will need to train more units at some point as well." Telth replied.

Valanthe knew a deflection when she saw one and was grateful Burner had asked the burning question, which allowed her to observe the two heads of civillian and military intelligence field operations. There was something off about their behavior but she couldn't put her finger on what exactly bothered her.

"Understood, sir." Valanthe nodded, her face schooling into a neutral expression.

Without further preamble the communication lines were cut.

"Well, this wasn't what any of us expected." Vala sighed as she turned to the clones. "I'd hoped we'd be able to reunite with Blackie, Vas and Len and take a break but alas the war stops for no one."

"Don't worry, Commander." Burner offered a crooked smile, "we'll all be back together in no-time guzzling down shots at the '79's."

Riis smirked, "I'll hold you to it, Burner." Then, another sigh, "alright. Burner, you'll take Stick and the intel to Coruscant. Aster, Pel, Torn, you'll get in the horn with the others, arrange a meetup and merger. Let me know when you arrive at your destinations and keep in touch when you can. I want to know you're alright even if I'm not with you."

"We can handle it, sir." Aster gave a half hearted sigh.

"I know you can handle it, but you're my boys. I care about what happens to you." Valanthe smiled at them.

It was true, she _had_ come to care bout the men she served with developing even a slight protective streak over them. Back in the day, it would be frowned upon, attachment. Nowadays though, her way of looking at things was drastically different. Nowadays she knew that attachment didn't necessarily lead to the Dark Side. How one handled it was the trigger.

She had to let them go, she knew. So she did. They would meet again down the line, the Force would see to it. She simply needed to follow it, as usual. If only she could overrule her head in the process, like she'd been urged so many times to do.

 _Trust in the Force, trust in the Force._


	7. Chapter 7: Against The Dying Of Light

**A/N:** Apologies for the delay, my lovelies. This chapter was intended to be one part, but it ended up becoming a two parter due to the awesomeness of the scene. Chapter 8: Shades of Jedi will come out by next week at the latest.

It is my great pleasure to introduce **Asami/Kaichi** , one of my Beta readers who's stepped up and co-written this chapter and the next few ones with me. She is an awesome writer and has managed to bring extra flare to the story. She will be guest starring when the story calls for it as General Renia Vinree, Jedi Master, Renia's Padawan and clone troopers (her own characters).

As always huge love and hugs to my faithful beta's, **NixNox** and **Tyren** (who has been exceptionally invaluable this chapter ;))

* * *

 _ *****Sermeria, Expansion Region, two days later*****_

" **INCOMING!"**

The loud and sudden cry of warning was easily heard over the near constant screech of blaster fire. Even with the pitch battle raging around them, clones from across the line looked skyward, searching for the separatist ordinance they all knew was bearing down on them. They had been waiting for this moment for hours, even as wave after wave of droids crashed upon their defenses, the clones knew that was only the beginning. It seemed that the artillery the Battalion had been dodging for the last week had finally caught up with them. All doubt of this was quickly erased as the shrill whistle of incoming ordinance was heard over all; the streaks of orange light heading straight for the center of their lines. In the moments before impact the smoke that had collected on the battlefield cleared a bit, exposing the clones of Jenth Company to friend and foe alike; their dirtied and dented white armor standing out so starkly against the black smoke of their destroyed walkers. As the shells streaked towards them all could see the clone scatter, some trying to find cover, some running to escape the blast and some were simply running. All while trying to hold the line against the ever increasing droid army.

Looking through her macrobinoculars, Renia Vinree, Jedi General of the encircled 442nd Siege (Breaker) Battalion, felt her heart clench in her chest as the rounds fell upon her men. It had been a direct hit on the clone position, even if her senses hadn't been open, the human woman would have felt the deaths of so many. Bowing her head briefly in respect, she let out a deep, sad sigh. Ren had been with the Battalion since the beginning of the war, she'd commanded them from the very first engagement on Geonosis. They'd taken heavy casualties there as well. Since those early days of the war she'd come to appreciate and respect the clones far more than she could ever had imagined; not only that, she cared for them. Ren grew close to many of her troopers and while she couldn't know them all, she felt each and every loss. In a way the clones of the 442nd had become her brothers too.

"Commander Frost." Ren said calmly, setting down the binoculars on their makeshift planning table. "Send Keth and Mren Companies in to support Jenth, we cannot afford to have our line collapse. And make sure there's an extra squad of stretcher bearers to pull the wounded off the line."

"Yes, General!" Frost replied, briefly snapping to attention as he acknowledge the order, his tone as crisp as ever. Like her, and contrary to his name, Frost cared deeply for his troopers, but he was also a commander. The veteran clone knowing he had an overall duty to perform and couldn't get bogged down worrying too much for an individual clone. Although like most organics, what he knew and what he felt weren't always in concert.

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll hold 'em…for now." A crisp salute and he was off to find his runners.

For now, it was the operative term to describe their situation. No matter how much they fought or how many droids they destroyed or ships they took down, they wouldn't be able to hold the Separatists back for long, not without reinforcements. There were just too many of them and not enough clones. As if to emphasize this point, her Padawan Nimina Alachi came running up to the command post with Captain Lock, the Battalion's second in command, hot on her heels. Despite her training as a healer, the young Pantoran had clearly just come from the line; her face and robes covered in soot and blood, she also sported a burn mark or two from where a blaster bolt had just skimmed her clothes or armor.

"Master, we have a problem." Nimina reported as she walked up to the mapping table. "Another unit of battle droids is moving in our left flank, they're starting to push us back from the trenches, our line is starting to collapse.

" _Spast!"_ Ren _muttered_ under her breath as Lock brought up the new enemy units on her holo-display. With the extra pressure being put on their lines from the left, they definitely wouldn't be able to hold their current position. She didn't have enough troops to cover such a large area and reinforce a breakthrough.

"We have no choice then, start pulling back to our secondary positions. Make sure to use our remaining gunships to move the artillery first and get it set as soon as possible. We're going to need them and what little air support we have left when we pull the men back from the line."

"Yes Master, we'll be ready." Nimina replied, the young woman giving her Master what she surely intended to be an encouraging nod before heading off with Lock to find their remaining pilots.

Surveying the battlefield once again Ren was relieved to see the extra men had reinforced the center, she just hoped they would be able to hold.

"Charger, have you got that holocom working again?" Ren asked turning to her most experienced Tech Specialists. Another veteran of Geonosis, Charger could fix just about anything he got his hands on. How long it would remain in operating condition was of course always a question.

"I think so General, but it's pretty heavily damaged, they really did a number on it when we pulled back. We can send but I'd guess there's only a forty percent chance we'll be able to receive any messages. And of course that's assuming the seppies aren't already jamming us."

"We'll just have to assume someone is out there and listening." Ren said giving the clone Sergeant a reassuring nod before activating the large communications device.

"To any Republic Military Forces, this is General Renia Vinree of the four-forty-second on Sermeria. We're under siege from Separatist forces and need immediate assistance. We're vastly outnumbered and our defensive position is collapsing. We're falling back in accordance to Case Orange, but we won't be able to hold out for long. Once again if there are any Republic friendly forces receiving this message we're in need of immediate assistance."

Ren let the communication finish recording and set it to transmit on a loop. She hoped that despite the dire nature of their situation that she hadn't sounded too desperate, too afraid. Not that it truly mattered what timbre her voice was, she had to remind herself. Regardless of what she knew, it still stuck in the back of her mind. At least until another round of artillery fire hit their front line. Seeing there was little else she could do from the CP, Ren took a calming breath. Her eyes closed she retrieved her cyan bladed sabers from her belt, taking comfort in the familiar snap-hiss of their activation and the calming steady hum that followed a moment later. With one last breath Ren left the relative safety of their command post, calling on the force to aid her and her men as she ran straight out into the thick of it.

 _ *****Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute, fighter bay*****_

They had been given but a day to rest before they had to depart for their next destination. Burner and Torn had been selected to bring the intel to GAR Intel HQ on Coruscant. Originally, Vala had planned to have Stick go with Burner, but after a private conversation with Night, he urged that Stick go with Pel and Aster to Felucia and that Burner and Torn carry the intel.

Vala was dying to ask questions as it didn't make sense to her that the one who extracted the intel and who could assist in decrypting it not go with said intel. Instead they argued against her choice of Burner and Stick and went with her 2IC and a medic instead.. Everything in Night's mannerisms and posture though begged not to be asked questions.

The Felucia bound trio had caught the earlier transport out. Now she stood with Burner and Torn in the fighter bay wishing dearly she could go with them. Worry mixed with wanting to know what was going on. The Felucia trio hadn't seemed worried and accepted the reassignment with ease.

Burner was concerned. He didn't like splitting up, much less Valanthe staying on her own, even if it _was_ with the legendary 501st and the Hero With No Fear/The Negotiator team. He took care of his own men and his own Jedi. Now, that was swept from under his feet. Torn, the quiet one seemed undecided between satisfying his own curiosity and just following orders like they'd been trained.

"Call me the when you hand the intel over." Vala looked over at her redheaded friend.

A good natured sigh left him. She'd repeated herself several times so far. He knew she meant well, but they were quite capable at remembering her orders. Any Jedi's orders for that matter.

"Don't worry, Commander." He replied, "we know what to do."

A communication went on in Torn's helmet and he stilled for a moment before looking over at them.

"They're ready for take off." He said, "we should get aboard."

Vala nodded, "swift winds to you both, gentlemen."

She fought an impulse to throw her arms around the two, but could feel both were somewhat reluctant to depart as well. However, orders were orders, so both of them put their helmets on, nodded and executed a perfect about-face. As she watched them get onto their transport she felt a curious presence come up behind her.

He felt even more intense when he was not accompanied by his fellow ARC.

"Admiring their legs or their asses, sir?" Fives asked as he stepped in beside her, decked fully in his ARC armour, helmet included. His tone had been so flat and dry it surprised her, but the hidden undercurrent of amusement and tease were what set her off chuckling.

"I am more of a shoulder/upper torso girl myself, Fives." She replied with a smirk as she looked over at him. "And you?"

He didn't miss a beat, "well I can't really answer that properly, Commander, as I'm not a girl, but…" he glanced sideways at her, which looked strange as his helmet barely moved, "since you're asking, legs, hips, personality."

Vala grinned, her lilac eyes dancing with a mix of amusement and surprise. He was even bolder when alone.

"Have you...had experience in such matters then? Most of your brothers I've met seem rather shy or withdrawn from even saying hello to a woman." Her own curiosity got the better of her.

He had to have come down here for a reason, she remembered then.

"Well most haven't had the opportunity to explore beyond the confines of duty, sir. But there are a few places on Coruscant, I've heard that are open to clones." He shrugged lightly turning to her as the transport departed the fighter bay.

He'd realized they weren't exactly in a time nor a place to talk about such things, nor was he really the type to brag in front of his brothers, so he tried to cover his own slip of the tongue by derailing his own derailing and get back to why he was there. Her reaction though left him curious.

"General Kenobi sent me, Commander. You're needed on the Bridge." He added, looking down at her.

Vala nodded, glad to get back on the subject as well as much as she found herself intrigued by the flare of personality she'd just witnessed.

"Why didn't he contact me himself? He knows I was seeing my team off." She wondered, more to herself than expecting an answer out of him as they ventured out of the fighter bay.

Fives shrugged, "I don't know, Commander. He just sent me to fetch you."

The Mirialan nodded as they stepped into the hallway, hands clasping behind her back. Both seemed wrapped up in their own thought, well rather Valanthe was. Fives just seemed, calm, focused.

"So when are you going back to Kamino to finish training?" She asked, looking over at the man.

His reaction surprised her, he seemed unsure what she was asking. "Any day now, I imagine, Commander."

"I'm just curious," she hoped that would ease his wondering. "It's nice to see you and Echo again, is all. I've caught up with everyone but you two past day or so."

He smiled behind his bucket. "I'll drag Echo to the Mess later, unless this briefing ends up being another crisis we have to handle."

"Indeed. We seem to be magnets for trouble in our own way." Riis nodded and stepped out of the lift as it deposited them on the Bridge.

"General Kenobi?" Valanthe called, "you sent for me." While her every instinct told her she needn't be so formal with her old friend, she still wanted to do it out of respect.

Fives stayed in the back, next to Echo, Cody and Rex, all four of them curious as to what was going on.

"Ah, Valanthe it's good you are here." Obi-Wan said, turning from the bridge holo-table where he'd been speaking with Anakin and Ahsoka; the conversation ending rather abruptly as Valanthe announced herself. Obi-Wan was sure there would be some on the Council and in the Order that would have an issue with her being here, he honestly wasn't sure how she'd react. Regardless she was Intelligence and a former Jedi Knight and he was her friend.

"We've received a rather disturbing message from Sermeria; Admiral Yularen if you would please." Obi-Wan said with a nod to an older man standing next to Anakin, certainly looking the part of an admiral; clad in a Republic Naval uniform with a passive if stern look upon his face.

" _To any Republic Military Forces, this is General Reni…"_

As the Recording began to play, Obi-Wan focused more on the woman in front of him, trying to get a read on her reaction to what she was seeing. He'd already ordered the _Resolute's_ course changed for Sermeria, but if Valanthe was to be involved Obi-Wan would need to get a feel for her; whether the Mirialan would be a help or a hinderance.

 _Spirits, Ren! What have you gotten yourself into?_ Cycled through said Mirialan's mind as she watched the holographic display of the distress signal. While Renia's voice was calm, there were micro expressions in her face and posture that told a different tale. They were in way more trouble than her transmission indicated.

She hadn't seen General Vinree in seven years, last time seeing her as she left the Jedi Temple for good. Renia had been there, on that slaver world when Valanthe took justice into her own hand.

"Master Kenobi, what is Case Orange? I am unfamiliar with the term." Her own face remained blank, lilac eyes hard, unrevealing.

"Case Orange is a Republic Army contingency plan, for a unit in danger of being overrun and destroyed. They fall back in sequence to a predetermined location, attempting to hold for as long as possible for reinforcements to arrive and evacuate them." Obi-Wan replied, a bit surprised he didn't see more reaction from Valanthe. The question became, was it just that she was in control of her emotions or was she slipping down a darker path. Considering their reunion only a few short hours before he doubted it was the latter, but he'd also been wrong before.

"Renia is telling us how dire her situation is."

Valanthe nodded slowly, "more dire than her tone suggests. General Vinree isn't one to call for help unless all of her resources have been depleted. It is likely we'll find the line barely holding or collapsed by the time we arrive so we should hurry." The Mirialan looked over at Obi-Wan with a miniature smile. "How long till we arrive?"

Obi-Wan for all his adherence to rules was never one to stand by and do nothing while fates were being decided. Riis had a good guess that the ship had already been diverted.

 _Hold on, Ren, hold on._

Behind them the only visible reaction from the row of clones was a slight turning of their helmets, which still after all this time looked somewhat creepy to Valanthe.

"It will be several more hours unfortunately." Obi-Wan said, nodding to Anakin to bring up their fleet's position in relation to Sermeria. The three holographic Venerator class ships blinking away as they followed the nearest hyperspace lane to the planet. "We're pushing the engines at one hundred and ten percent, hopefully it'll be enough for us to get there in time."

There was also the concern that pushing the engines that hard would cause significant damage. Admiral Yularen had already expressed his concerns that once they arrived they would be trapped, unable to return to hyperspace. Still this concern was outweighed by Renia's situation. It was one thing to take a chance on being stranded and leaving your comrades to the enemy. It was not the Jedi way to leave their own behind.

"You'll need an extra lightsaber down there." The green woman glanced over at the two Generals.

There was a slight perking up in the Force signatures of the clones as well.

Anakin raised an eyebrow, smirking a little at Vala but saying nothing just yet. Obi-Wan was the High General, therefore it was his decision, though he doubted his old Master would turn down an offer for help, especially from an old friend of his.

Obi-Wan considered Valanthe, stroking his beard, observing the green skinned woman. She was right, considering the situation Renia described and how deep they were striking into Separatist territory, they would be in for quite the reception. However, he was...conflicted. The Jedi Master couldn't help but think back to their mission to Dalleron II all those years ago. That had lead Valanthe to leave the order, not agreeing with how out of line the Council had considered her actions to be.

Renia had also been on that mission, he was seriously worried that having the Mirialan along would make things more complicated. To pull off a rescue like this they would need to work together and follow any plan they devised. He already had Anakin and Ahsoka to worry about, one more might be too much to handle. And yet...

"I hope I don't end up regretting this…" Obi-Wan said with a sigh and finally a nod. "Alright Valanthe, you're right. An extra Saber would be useful."

Valanthe nodded slowly, pretty certain she knew the reasoning behind his words. Truth be told she couldn't really blame him. The last time they were on a mission together things didn't go exactly as planned.

 _ **===***FLASHBACK, DALLERON II, 7 YEARS PRIOR***===**_

It had taken them days, long, gruelling days of sifting through paperwork and witness statements to finally zero in on the power structure of the _Black Mist_ slaver ring. They had identified the top sergeants and lieutenants, now all they had to do was pinpoint the head of the beast.

With increasing reports of missing Republic citizens in the fringes of the _Expansion Region_ towards _Wild Space,_ at the behest of the Senate the Jedi Council put together a task group to look into the matter. Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, along with his Padawan Aayla Secura had been sent, along with Master Shaak-Ti and Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi, Valanthe Riis and Renia Vinree.

Valanthe, a fairly freshly minted Knight was sent as the one most skilled in investigation, whereas Obi-Wan and Renia were most skilled in negotiation and diplomacy. Quinlan Vos was no stranger to the criminal milieu, especially slavers due to his prior missions, so he'd taken his Twi'lek apprentice along on this mission, as a way to help her deal with her own past as well as help out on the mission. Master Shaak Ti, a red skinned Togruta female was sent as support to the team as well as her reputation for being the wise, even handed one.

Renia hadn't been sure why she had been assigned to the Jedi Task Force at first. In her time with the order she didn't have much experience with Slavers. Yes she and master Di had run into a few but nothing on this scale. She hadn't expressed these concerns to anyone of course, she'd been selected by the Council to be a part of the mission and she wasn't going to let anyone down. Besides, what this group was doing truly was horrible, it was her duty as a Jedi Knight to help stop it.

Not that she really felt like she was contributing, Valanthe was the investigator, not her. She always had been the inquisitive one, more so than anyone Ren had known. Even when they were younglings the Mirialan was exceptional at figuring things out. She'd certainly been able to get a read on Ren pretty quickly. Trusting her friend to find the answers they sought, Ren just did her best to help out.

Valanthe, always dressed more like a regular citizen than a Jedi, sat at one of the desks that had been provided for them by the local authorities, hunched over a pile of info-pads and actual papers. She had a hand in her long, black purple hair as her lilac eyes focused on the piece of parchment in front of her, trying to read the weird scribbles on it. The language wasn't Aurabesh nor was it Hutteese or Shirriwook. She'd seen it before, but wasn't entirely sure where. Every third or fourth word made any kind of sense.

"From the look on your face, I'm assuming you haven't had much luck yet?" Renia asked, flopping down into one of the few free chairs not piled high with literature, setting down another set of texts to help with the translations. Dusting off her light blue tunic, Ren grabbed the top one looking for symbols that matched the parchment that Vala was looking at. Like Vala, Ren had forgone the more traditional Jedi robes, instead picking a style more in line with her ancestry. In her opinion the more relaxed look not only helped her connect with others but helped her feel more confident in her abilities. Now if only that confidence could actually help them translate the parchment and the other strange texts they had discovered.

"I'm in a mind block. I can make some words out from this parchment. It speaks of a cat like person with wide ears but a narrow more wolf like face. I'm assuming it's a race, but all this deciphering as me in a haze." Valanthe sighed, her hand moving from her hair to the bridge of her tattooed nose. "Never a name, just this vague description."

"So far that's all that the others have said as well, even the ones in languages we can understand. No names, at least nothing that the individual writer hadn't given them." Ren replied with a small huff as she set the tablet aside and picked up the next text. "Still nothing, all they ever call them are invaders or slavers or variations on both. Whoever they are they've been very effective in covering their tracks, and it also seems like they've been at it for a long time. It's hard to believe that neither the Republic nor the Order have knowledge of them."

Valanthe leaned back in her seat. "Or they refuse to have. All because they don't want to take that one extra step to ensure horrid things like these don't happen." She muttered under breath as she inhaled and attempted to center herself.

"But if the Order decided not to do anything wouldn't they have a good reason?" The younger woman asked setting aside yet another text. They had been taught to trust the Order and the Masters, even when they didn't quite understand their reasonings. Even as Jedi knights, they had to be mindful that despite all their knowledge and experience they didn't know everything. "Master Yoda would say we need to trust in the Force."

"What does trusting the Force have to do with the Order not willing to protect as we should, Ren?" Vala looked over at the younger, raven haired woman with a tired smile. "We're not willing to put pressure where it's needed. This is how we miss things, because we stop at any kind of force. How does peacekeeping go hand in hand with protection?"

"I...I don't honestly know. I don't even entirely disagree with you." Ren sighed, running a hand through her hair. "When Master Di and I traveled the Outer Rim, we'd have to act on our own and I know the Council wasn't always happy, but Master Di seemed to know when it was appropriate to act and where not. Isn't it possible that sometimes keeping the peace means not acting?"

"Seriously…" Lilac eyes caught blue. "I'm sorry, you're my friend but I cannot agree with you there." Vala sighed. "Which is why it's probably best if you don't follow me where I'm going next." The Mirialan stood up and gathered the parchment, readjusting her light saber on her belt.

"Wait, what? Vala!" Ren's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Disregarding her friends warning, Ren chased after her, boots loudly impacting against the stone floor. Reaching out she grasped the woman's shoulder, stopping her in place. "Hold on a second, what are you talking about?" She asked moving around in front of her friend keeping herself between Vala and the direction she was heading.

The said direction was the prisoner cells where a certain Lieutenant was being kept.

"I'm talking about getting us the intel we need. The intel that could very well end this crisis and save lives, Ren." The Mirialan said calmly, raising an eyebrow in a manner that asked _are you going to challenge me?_

Valanthe needed to _interrogate_ this prisoner. Not just question him like Quinlan and Obi-Wan had.

Ren was surprised at the look she saw in Vala's eyes, in all the years they had known one another, all those years of friendship she'd never seen this kind of look in her eyes. Still despite her surprise, Ren refused to let her best friend go through with her plan, whatever it was. "Vala I don't know what you're thinking but you can't just go storming in there like this."

"I'm not going to storm in anywhere, Renia." Valanthe replied with a small smirk, "I'm just going to find out about our mysterious friend here." She pulled the paper up again. "This is what I do. I find things out."

 _Sometimes it's just best you don't know how, my friend. Force help me, you're worse than Obi-Wan sometimes._

"This isn't just what you do, I've seen what you do, and in all the times we've worked together you've never told me to stay away." Ren said, her features softening as she began pleading with her friend. "How can doing something, something that you can't even trust me, me of all people with be the right path?"

"Because the path is fraught with shadows. I cannot ask you to walk it with me. I _am_ a shadow, Ren. I dance with them all the time. You, you are as close to the Light as only Obi-Wan here is. The rest of us are all cloaked in one kind of shadow or another." Valanthe admitted. "You've trusted me so far to get information, can you not trust me now?"

Somehow though, she had a feeling Renia Vinree was about to have a taste of the shadows sooner rather than later.

"I…" Ren felt her arms drop to her sides, her head dropping slightly as she tried to make up her mind. She wanted to trust Vala, desperately wanted to trust Vala, that's what her feelings told her to do. But as a Jedi, she couldn't lead with her heart, right? She was supposed to think, follow the teachings of the Jedi Code, not her feelings...they just got in the way. But then again she'd always had trouble following that particular lesson.

"I do trust you Vala…" She said quietly, looking up their eyes locking for a moment. "Al-alright go. But please remember, you might be a shadow, but there's more Light in you than you think."

Vala winked at her, "you should remember that particular wisdom too, my friend. I'll be back soon." A green hand clasped Renia's shoulder briefly, squeezing as the Mirialan passed by her.

As she walked past her friend, Valanthe took a deep breath to center herself. What she was venturing to do danced closely to, or on the edge of the Dark Side of the Force, something she'd trained years and years for to be able to differentiate, to be able to control so as not to fall. Rarely however, did she actually put it to practical application. But after weeks they were at the exhausting point of their resources. If they couldn't find the ring leader soon they would have to leave and risk a very high likelihood of them simply starting over once the Jedi left.

She stepped down to the cell levels of the detention centre, asking to be left alone with the prisoner. So far he'd been tight lipped about betraying his boss, while giving the team bits and bobs of information to keep them focused on them rather than the boss.

Valanthe stepped into the cell and it locked behind her. The man, mid thirties, bald, tattooed all over his body, a giant scar from a light-whip over the left side of his face, solidly built was sat on his bunk, watching her, smirking.

"Save your breath Jedi, I ain't sayin' nuffin'." He said to her, adjusting his posture to release the tension from his mag-locked hands.

Valanthe motioned with her hand and the locks released, the cuffs clunking to the ground.

"Not of your own free will maybe, but you will tell me what I want to know." She replied in an emotionless tone, focusing her mind on his.

"Yeeee...nah." He waved it off, assessing her, curious as to why she'd released him.

She lifted the parchment up, "a cat like man with wide ears but a wolfish face. Is that a nickname? A race? A really karked up name?"

The man stood up, cracking his knuckles.

"You will tell me what I want to know, Pallen." She matched the pace he set, left and right, left and right, each going the opposite direction.

"I can do this all day, luv'." Pallen chuckled and lunged for her.

Only to be stopped mid air. Her arm shot out like lightning as he moved, holding him in place through a stasis field bent from the Force.

"They did this before, it doesn't scare me." He laughed at her, suspended in the air like so.

She narrowed her eyes at him, cocking her head to the right for a moment, "no, I don't imagine it does."

Without so much as blinking, her arm pulled back slightly, drawing him along before it shot out, pushing through the Force and slamming him back first into the opposite wall, hard.

Pallen growled as his spine rattled at the impact. "Kriffin schutta!"

Standing at the top of the stairs leading down to the detention level Ren cringed as she felt the impact of someone hitting one of the cell walls. Ren had stood in the same place Vala left her for what felt like minutes before following after the Mirialan. She had been about to descend the stairs when she stopped in her tracks, the feeling of aggression in the room keeping her from venturing further.

Holding her place for several minutes, Ren stretched out with her feelings, trying to get an idea of what was actually going on down there. Feeling another wave of aggression, Ren swore under her breath internally debating on whether she should go down to speak to Vala or get the others. "Spast!" She growled out, eventually making up her mind, spinning on her heel before jogging off to find Obi-wan. If there was one person in their group who would know what to do it would be him.

Obi-wan was surprised to hear the pounding sound of footsteps running up the stairs. Things had been relatively quiet inside the facility for the last few days. All of the Jedi had been immersed in study, trying to decipher the identity and location of those running the slaver ring, and there hadn't been much cause for action since. Halting his conversation with Master Ti, he raised an eyebrow as Renia rounded the corner, her feet sliding a bit as she made a rather swift turn.

"Obi-wan." She called out, slowing as she came up to her fellow Knight and their one Jedi Master. "Master Ti, I'm sorry to interrupt.."

"Never mind that, Renia what's wrong?" Obi-wan asked, seeing the woman was clearly in distress.

"It's Vala, she's interrogating the prisoner and…"

"And? Young one?" Master Ti asked, her voice perfectly serene even though she too was concerned. It didn't take someone of Obi-wan's observational skills to see Knight was very concerned.

"And I've got a bad feeling about it Master...I...something feels wrong," Renia replied, her head bowed slightly. She was already feeling guilty about the whole thing, betraying Vala's trust just made her feel even worse. Even when Obi-wan stepped forward and placed a gentle reassuring hand on her shoulder, Renia didn't feel any better. After a moment of silence hung over the room, Obi-wan was the first to speak up and break the spell that had settled over the collected Jedi.

"I think we better go check on what exactly is going on down there."

At that moment the two remaining Jedi stepped over. "Going on where?" The male one asked.

"In our own detention area Vos." Obi-wan replied, eyes falling on Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura, the other two members of their team as they entered the room. "Renia's come with some concerning news."

The male Kiffar raised an eyebrow, the yellow tattoo that lay horizontally across his nose and cheeks seemed more pronounced in dimmed lighting of the room.

"Vot kind of news, Master?" Aayla, the thickly accented, blue skinned Twi'lek Padawan asked looking from Obi-Wan to Renia.

"Apparently Valanthe has taken some initiative in discovering the identity of our slaver group." Obi-wan replied, beginning to get the same concerned feeling as Renia. Looking over at the woman, he could practically see the normally confident woman folding in on herself at the moment. Clearly this had gone beyond what she'd expected.

Quinlan Vos shrugged. "She's a shadow, they do these things. What's the fuss, Vinree?"

Aayla affixed him with a glare from his side but he ignored her. Quinlan knew what they were hinting but in his view it was something that needed to be done in dire circumstances.

Valanthe Riis was the most trained of all of them in walking that line. Even his own shadow dancing wasn't as precise.

"I just have a bad feeling of where this is heading…" The woman replied, her voice softer than it had been when entering the room, still looking away for a moment before taking a breath and affixing Vos with about as disapproving a glare she could manage. "Not all of us are as comfortable with skirting the lines as you are Vos."

Quinlan chuckled as he observed Renia then glanced over at Obi-Wan. "You sure she wasn't _your_ apprentice, Kenobi? Well come on then! Let's see what's going on!"

Aayla sighed audibly next to him and rolled her eyes. As much as she respected her Master he could be such a handful sometimes.

"I cannot believe I'm saying this and none of you are allowed to repeat it, but I agree with Vos." Obi-wan said pinching the bridge of his nose, physically pained by the words and the more than pleased look on the Kiffar's face. "We need to get down there and take a look, standing around here speculating isn't doing us any good."

 _ **To Be Continued In Chapter 8: Shades Of Jedi**_


	8. Chapter 8: Shades Of Jedi

**A/N:** Here's part 2 **Asami** joins me again as the co-author with the ever vigilant help of our beta's **NixNox** and **Tyren**. Without further ado, enjoy. ;)

* * *

 _ **Previously:**_

" _I cannot believe I'm saying this and none of you are allowed to repeat it, but I agree with Vos." Obi-wan said pinching the bridge of his nose, physically pained by the words and the more than pleased look on the Kiffar's face. "We need to get down there and take a look, standing around here speculating isn't doing us any good."_

* * *

Back at the detention center, Valanthe had taken her use of the Force up a notch. Pallen had a strong will because her mind manipulations failed initially. But with each Force push, each Force throw, each stasis envelopment, his resolve ebbed, she could feel it.

"The name of your leader. His race. You will tell me." She kept repeating in a calm, controlled manner.

She could feel her anger and frustration tumbling at her mental barriers. It was hard to resist them, to keep her focus on those two details rather than snuffing the life the fierfek she had yet again slammed into the wall.

"N...no." He gasped as yet another trickle of blood streamed from his nose.

 _Oh but you will._ Valanthe felt his resolve break at that point. Releasing her hold on him she let him drop to the floor. It was a rather unceremonious sight.

She crouched in front of him, her eyes sharp, her mind focused. "You will tell me the name and race of the leader of the Black Mist slaver ring." A motion of her hand in front of his bloodied and bruised face as she waited.

There was still some resistance from him but as she repeated her command again, she felt his mind break.

"VALANTHE!" Obi-Wan shouted as he pushed open the door, the three inch plate of durasteel, banging off the wall. Halfway down the stairs each of the Jedi could feel a shift in the flow of the Force. Renia had broken out into a run immediately with Obi-Wan not far behind and eventually overtaking the young woman.

Hearing Obi-Wan shout, Renia turned the corner sharply trying to steel herself for whatever had made the normally stoic jedi to lose his cool. The sight that met her however...that she wasn't expecting. Coming to a sudden stop, Ren couldn't hold back the audible gasp as she saw the state of their prisoner. Hand clamping tightly over her mouth all she could do was stare, the others having to move around her to enter the cell. _Oh gods what have I done?_

"Obi-Wan, STOP!" The Mirialan held out her arm, palm up towards her friend, an imploring look in her features. "I've got it, just give me a moment."

Aayla Secura, the blue Twi'lek almost jumped through the air and drew her saber on Valanthe had her Kiffar Master not held her back. "Aayla, wait!" He hissed at her, holding her at the shoulders. "Wait."

"But, Master.."

"Wait."

"Your Master is right Padawan, patience. Let us see what our fellow Knight has to say for herself." Shaak Ti said, stepping in front of the blue Twi'lek. Once she was sure Aayla wasn't going to take any further action she moved to Obi-Wan's side awaiting Valanthe's next move. All the while Ren was in the same spot she was before, too shocked by what was happening to really focus on anyone else in the room. Her only bit of movement had been to grasp one of her sabers when it seemed that Aayla was going to attack her friend.

When she realized they were _actually_ letting her finish, Valanthe turned towards the broken man. "Tell me the name of the Black Mist slaver ring leader and his race."

"Taras Bulba. He's a Zygerrian male." The man managed through his bloodied mouth.

"Where is he?" Valanthe motioned with her hand again.

The man took his time, but finally managed to reveal a set of coordinates to them. He was having trouble breathing and staying awake at this point.

So Valanthe hurried, "you will change your ways and devote your life to freeing slaves, no matter the owner." She placed her hand on his forehead gently and commanded.

"I will change my ways and devote my life to freeing slaves, no matter the owner." The man repeated.

"Alright, let's get this one a medic." Valanthe said finally as she stood up and turned around to face her teammates.

"Padawan, will you contact one of the rangers, see that they send a medic down to the detention level." Shaak Ti said over her shoulder before looking back to the woman. "Now, Knight Riis, please explain yourself."

Valanthe took a deep breath as she looked over at the Togruta. "We were stuck and getting nowhere in the investigation. Our approach was not working on these men. They understand only force, so it is how I approached my questioning of the man. It's unfortunate that I had to resort to such lengths, but it _has_ yielded a result."

"But the ends do not always justify the means." Master Ti replied, her tone as even as ever. It was as she were discussing the warmth in the air, rather than the abuse of a prisoner. "That is what sets a Jedi apart, the knowledge and respect that a result is not more important the the way one arrived at the end."

"Not to mention, not all of our options had been eliminated yet." Obi-Wan added, still observing the prisoner who had finally fallen unconscious.

"In civilized societies based on humanoid norms, yes. This is a slaver community. In such cases they will only bow to a superior force, not to reason." Valanthe countered, "what options, Obi-Wan? Have any of us known that Zygerrians weren't after all a myth? How is it that the six of us failed to recognize the race when described to us? What exact method were we going to employ next to find out what we needed?"

Quinlan stepped over, "we were running out of them faster than we could come up with new ones." He conceded. "It's not a Jedi's way, though. No."

 _I know._ Valanthe nodded a little, still waiting for counter arguments from Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan, or any kind of reaction from Renia.

"Force begets force, reason and diplomacy should always be a Jedi's first choice." Shaak said, as she considered both arguments. "Sometimes extreme measures are required, in certain circumstances...however I'm not sure I can agree that this is one."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, accepting Master Ti's counsel on the subject even if he did seem slightly uncomfortable by her words.

Ren honestly didn't know how to reply, what to say or do. She understood that sometimes they all had to do things that were antithetical to the core of the Jedi teachings but this...she couldn't imagine Vala doing this. She had gotten the information they'd been seeking, but her means, Ren wasn't sure she could support that. But even though she couldn't agree, she still wanted to support her friend.

"It _was_ our first choice and it was getting us nowhere or have you both forgotten the endless _interviews_ we've done with all the witnesses and perps we caught? They know we will not act out against them in force, so they are more difficult to crack. Confidence in one's own stance does a lot against a Force use who will use words first and action as last resort. They _count_ on us not acting, that's how they get away with it more often than not. Because _we_ give up when diplomacy fails. They know it and count on it." Valanthe countered, "that being said I do in general agree with what you are saying. Our mandate ends in three days. Three days we more than likely would have spent in more research and interviewing that wouldn't get us anywhere."

The Mirialan sighed and gestured with her hands, "then we would leave and the whole cycle would start again. Don't go the _we can't know that_ line. Because we do know how it will go. Their sense of morality and decency is non existent...unless forced, they will not change their ways."

Quinlan nodded slowly, "as much as I'm tempted to give more Jedi dogma on the subject, Riis is right in this case. If she wasn't going to do it, I may have tried the same."

Valanthe looked from one to another, "are we going to stand around and debate what I did or are we going to go after Taras and apprehend him?"

"Vala's right." Ren finally said, cutting Obi-Wan off as she spoke up for the first time since she entered the room, drawing a look from the man. Obviously he had been about to take issue with either Vos' flippant attitude toward Jedi teachings or to Vala's belief in the ends justifying the means. Renia, frankly didn't agree with either of them, but she wasn't sure she could deal with another roundabout discussion right now. But she wasn't about to throw a fit and storm out of the room, not that she wasn't close but she also wasn't a Padawan anymore.

"We have the information and we need to act on it. There will be plenty of time to discuss the fine points of the Jedi code later." Obi-Wan would have plenty of time to try and impart the need for adhering to the tenants of the light and Shaak Ti would be able to look for her precious middle ground. But they'd be able to do it when cooler or at least less stressed heads could prevail.

Valanthe nodded, breathing a silent sigh of relief. She could sense Aayla's return to the room and the young Twi'lek was mildly horrified and angry but she kept her outward composure.

"Let's go."

 _ **===***END FLASHBACK***===**_

Valanthe had remained on the Bridge after the meeting was dismissed, by the mission console, looking at the readouts but not really looking at it. Her mind had been in the past, seven years ago. On Dalleron II, the mission that would change her life and her future.

"Is that the look I have on my face when I concentrate too hard?" Obi-Wan asked, teasing the woman a bit as he re-entered the bridge. Once the meeting was over he'd taken a few minutes to speak with Anakin and Ahsoka privately before returning. He knew they would be curious about his and Valanthe's past and he wanted to head those questions off at the pass. He didn't give many personal specifics, just general information and the impression that more would not be forthcoming. "If it is I may need to reconsider these long nights."

Valanthe smiled softly at him. As much as she and Obi-Wan disagreed sometimes, more often than not vehemently so, the Mirialan could never be angry with him. Mildly annoyed at times but more often admiring and envying a little his trust in the Jedi and the Republic. Such staunch devotedness was something she strove towards but knew she could never achieve. In her mind there weren't enough strings of light in her. So, when she needed to tether herself, she thought of the golden haired boy from Stewjon. Or rather a very handsome man now.

"I wish I _was_ concentrating," Vala chuckled, "I was thinking about Dalleron. All this business with Ren...brought it all back." Lilac eyes met cerulean blue ones, "you were afraid back then, that I'd go off the rails again."

"Honestly, yes." Obi-Wan said with a sigh, having taken a moment to consider the woman before speaking, his arms crossing over his chest. It wasn't a pleasant topic, one he would rather have not focused on, when speaking with an old friend. But there was no avoiding it, it was the first thing that had popped to mind as soon as she volunteered to help. "I made no secret I didn't approve of the actions you took, I still don't and I don't think Renia does either. Considering the situation we now find ourselves in I couldn't help but wonder what kind of reaction you'd have."

Riis nodded slowly as she turned to him, leaning against the tall console with her hip. "I understand, believe me I do. What I did was..I'm not going to say it was wrong. It was necessary. I mean yes, it broke a lot of the Jedi tenets, but that event began a change that lasted for several years with me." She said.

"I'm not that girl anymore, Obi-Wan. Being away from the Order, on my own, dealing with the shadow realm on the mundane scale as a Force user...it's brought a lot of things into focus, into perspective. I followed the path of the Living Force and it has lead me back to the Jedi, but in a different way. I'm on the outside looking in this time and the picture is quite different."

"Considering our recent interactions with Force users who have left the order in recent years you will understand my hesitance. I want to believe you Valanthe; you're my friend and you do seem happier now than you ever did as a Jedi Knight." Obi-Wan replied, leaning up against a console of his own. "But that doesn't change the dangers of walking a darker path. In fact it would seem to enhance them, the lure of the darkside is that much stronger when you're without the structure and support of the Order."

She nodded a little, smiling at him, "more than ever have I had to meditate, to remember myself, my path, my priorities. I've seen things these past few years, done things that could have so easily thrown me into the pit. But I've found ways to tether myself, like Master Sinube taught me all those years ago. Hooks to pull myself back from the abyss. People…"

"Anyone I know?" Obi-Wan asked trying to find a bit of humor in an admission that depending on how you took it could have some concerning implications. Needing to meditate more, holding onto who you were, forming attachments. Each were things that Jedi were warned against early in their training. Obi-Wan hadn't known a Jedi who hadn't had a problem with one or all of these things at some point in their lives, but all had to get past that as well.

"My team, though that's been swept from under me too fast, my assets, spirits, even Renia at times, though I've not seen her since I left, but mostly, _you_ my friend. You're my inspiration towards the Light." Her features softened at her admission.

It wasn't something she expressed openly too often. Admiration, affection, love. When she did it was in small, simple doses rather than grandiose gestures.

"I think about you when I question myself, when I wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing."

"Me?" To say he was surprised was probably one of the bigger understatements of the year. Obi-Wan considered Valanthe a friend, one of his oldest. But he wouldn't have suspected that he would be her inspiration. Anyone's inspiration really, Obi-Wan always tried to uphold the ideas of the Jedi and pass on the lessons of his former master; but he always felt he fell short.

"Mmm…" The Mirialan smirked, enjoying immensely the slight flush that crept behind his bearded cheeks. "You're the Jedi we all wish we could be, Obi-Wan."

"Now that I doubt, there are plenty of other Jedi more worthy of your esteem, Master Yoda for one." He couldn't help but wonder who all aspired to be like him. Honestly he felt like any other Jedi, another part of the greater Order.

 _Another reason I am so fond of you, my friend._ Valanthe reached over, grasping his armoured shoulder and squeezing gently. "I'm not a Jedi any longer, my friend and I cannot adhere to certain things the Order still practices. That is why I conditioned I be a civilian operative in this venture, rather than a Jedi or a GAR one. I have learned how to work as a team as well as a solo operator however. Can you extend to me that much trust to let me assist you in helping Ren?"

She'd changed the subject because she remembered a little detail about him that secretly made her smile. The man could not take a compliment even if his life depended on it. So, she changed the subject to not make him any more uncomfortable than he already was.

"Yes I do trust you. If it were anyone else I'm not sure I could. But I like to think I still know you and I know how close you and Renia are." The two Jedi had practically grown up together, he very much doubted that Valanthe would let anything happen to the other woman if she could help it.

Valanthe nodded, "do you ever think about him? About Bulba?" She asked quietly.

"Sometimes, not as much as I used to.." Obi-Wan said with another sigh. "I've since accumulated more than a few others to keep me up at night." Everyone had their nightmares, it was impossible to do what they did and not accumulate a few. However Bulba and their mission to Dalleron II would always be one of his worst. In his opinion they failed that day or at least he did; most of the time in his nightmares it was doing everything different and still coming up with the same result.

"I kept tabs on the planet and the locals when I started working for RMOI. They never sprung up a ring as big and as bad as that one." Vala's eyes hazed over a little, "and they started a proper ranger and armed force to deal with any further uprisings. They've managed to keep control and drive the slavers off of the planet after a few years. After what we did...what _I_...did."

 _ **===***FLASHBACK, DALLERON II, THREE DAYS LATER***===**_

The compound was in the desert, surrounded by electro railing on one side, the rest was built into a rock formation that spread out in a crescent shape on its south side. A group of guards patrolled the border inside and a group inside of it. Two guard towers surrounded the entrance, them and the buildings inside coloured in the beige, sand and teracota shades, to blend in with the environment and to help protect from the sun.

The Jedi taskgroup had snuck through the area quietly, rather than in force and on transport, wearing matching colours to the environment.

"Master," Aayla whispered as she snuck behind Quinlan, "something is going on in the compound, something terrible."

"I know…" Quinlan's voice was soft as he and his padawan came to a crouch behind a rock formation and looked onward.

Indeed it had been. The Force echoed with cries, pain and anguish of about sixty people. It steadily kept getting stronger, more intense.

Valanthe pulled out a set of small binoculars and observed the compound as best as she could from a vantage point she'd taken while shrouding herself from sight of everyone with the Force.

The pain and the fear filtering through the Force was so intense she barely kept her focus.

Even the strongest and most serene of their group were not immune to the the tortures and violations of the sixty unfortunate souls inside the compound, the Force communicating their suffering as if the Jedi were in the very same room with them. Master Ti coped with her usual stoicism, her focus on the mission ahead of them. Obi-Wan recited the code, taking solace in the pure teachings of the order, in his belief in their righteous cause. Renia however could do neither, dealing with what the Force exposed them too far worse than any of the others.

To Ren it was physically painful, her skin was hot and it felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach by a Manka Cat. And the closer they got to the compound and the more suffering was inflicted upon the slaves the worse the effects on her. Maybe it was her Onderonian heritage and the strong connection to the life force of other creatures that made her more vulnerable. Or maybe it was all that had happened in the last few days had eroded her mental shields enough to make her susceptible. Either way, it most of what she had not to be overwhelmed by what the Force was sharing with the Jedi. Whatever they were going to do, she hoped it would be soon.

"He's just outside the south building." Vala's voice was stone, her own Force signature fiercely locked in, blocked away from the others, almost as if she wasn't there. Just a faint echo on the fringes that was easy to miss. "Putting a light whip to a group of children. Several of his men…"

The words choked in her throat, "they are...Force…" she jumped down from her vantage point and let the Force cloak around her fade away, appearing next to Obi-Wan and handed him the binoculars.

Vala didn't need to finish her sentence, Ren already knew what was happening, she could feel what was happening. Intellectually it wasn't a surprise really, most slaves taken ended up in the pleasure or labor markets, still knowledge of the facts didn't help her any, nor did it help anyone inside. One of the women inside must have been force sensitive, Ren could hear her screams. Although trying to appear strong to those around her, Renia fought her feelings as much as she could she wanted the others to see her as strong, but was unable to stop a few tears from falling down her cheeks.

Whatever they were going to do, she wished they'd do it already. It wouldn't be long till the slavers would be done with their current victims and move on to breaking the rest.

Valanthe pulled on her control violently, "Masters, what's the plan?"

Quinlan knew how he'd have reacted alone. But with the others present, especially Aayla, he needed to use a different approach. He needed to set some kind of an example.

"Distraction, infiltration, apprehension," he said finally. "Riis, you sneak in and start freeing the slaves as you can while the rest of us create a diversion. Aayla, you will use the commotion to apprehend the slaver. You're the most agile out of all of us, you'll be able to duck your way out of the fray towards him."

"Quinlan, let Renia go with Aayla. That guy will have shadows on him. Aayla will need help. Electro nets can disable even the most agile of us." Valanthe pointed out. "I can sneak in and out easily before they even notice me, but they will be an easy sight."

"Vala's right, I can keep up with Aayla and watch her back." Renia said, pulling herself together; better able to fortify her mental walls now that they were actually doing something. Besides Vala herself none of their fellow Jedi had Aayla's agility. Ren herself had impressive agility, especially for her build, but even she would have trouble keeping up with the young Twi'lek.

Obi-Wan considered the plan for a moment before nodding his agreement followed quickly by Master Ti. Since the incident in the detention facility he'd been keeping greater watch over Valanthe. Not to spy or because he didn't trust her, but because the lure of the darkside was a very slippery slope, one could start to fall and not even realize it. He did not want to lose a friend to that.

Vos nodded. "Alright, the three of us will go in first then the three of you use the commotion and infiltrate the compound. Riis after you secure the slaves assist Vinree and Aayla with Bulba and his men."

Valanthe nodded and shifted around into a crouch position. _Just keep your focus, remember the mission,_ she kept repeating in her head.

Quinlan squeezed Aayla's shoulder a little, "you'll be fine, padawan. Just follow the tactic we practiced."

The Twi'lek exhaled deeply, nodding. She then looked over at Valanthe who seemed to be focusing and scowled briefly. Could the Mirialan be trusted after what she pulled? A slight nudge in her left shifted her attention to Renia.

"Try to cut their blasters, without them they only have light whips and we can dispatch those. Just don't get hit...they're painful and paralyzing." She said to Renia.

"I've never faced an opponent using a light whip before, thanks for the advice Padawan." Ren replied with a slight smile, her hands briefly brushing over the hilts of her sabers. She wasn't exactly looking forward to the experience but it would be educational. She too was worried about Valanthe, although unlike Aayla she didn't doubt that she could trust the woman, more that she had damaged her their friendship when she told the others.

Aayla nodded and motioned for Renia to follow her to a cover spot closer to the entrance quietly.

Quinlan looked over at Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti and grinned. "Let's make some noise!"

Valanthe on the other hand was nowhere to be seen. She'd in fact reached the guard towers and stood ready to slip inside as the distraction began.

Watching Aayla and Renia move into position and trusting that Valanthe was in position Obi-Wan ignited his saber and gave Vos the nod to go ahead. They may not always get along but no one quite knew how to make an entrance like the Kiffar.

Vos' yellow tinged lightsaber gave the dusky man a slightly strange glow. He boldly strode forward, flanked by Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti.

As they reached the guard towers they could feel all of the attention slowly shift from pleasuring themselves with the slaves towards regearing and getting ready to dispatch with the intruders. Valanthe used this to slip between the towers and the approaching guards easily under the cloaking comfort of the Force. She only hoped that none of them was Force sensitive, or at least close to her, lest she be uncovered too soon.

"Hold it, bub!" One of the guards in the tower trained their rifle at them, the others assembled doing the same.

A Weequay male, largely built approached the entry way, holding an old Arakyd D-67 rotary cannon.

Quinlan sighed dramatically, "hand Bulba over and we won't go all out on you all."

"Oh very diplomatic of you." Obi-Wan quipped, his attention turning from the weequay to the various other brigands that had started to appear, all rather unfazed by the presence of the three Jedi. Starting to wish they had brought along the Rangers, Obi-Wan brought his lightsaber into a defensive position. "We are representatives of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic, it would behove you to listen to our terms."

"You wot?" The guard blinked stupidly at the golden haired man.

Valanthe meanwhile managed to find what she assumed to be a slave pit. There seemed to be mostly women and children in this one. Bloodied, bruised, clothes tattered. There was also a distinct smell of bodily function release wafting from down there. It took all of Valanthe's control not to drop her cloak of Force and retch.

"I fink they're 'avin' us on!" The Weequay growled as he brought his cannon online

"If you think that, then you've never encountered a Jedi before." Obi-Wan replied his eyes constantly sweeping the group. He knew Shaak Ti was doing the same, her own saber at the ready and if he had any guess Vos was being his usual self; that flippant grin on his face.

Renia and Aayla had take up position on the other side of the compound, they could still see the other knights confronting the larger group but they'd luckily been able to avoid detection. Her lightsabers in hand, Ren stretched out with the Force trying to get a read on if the slavers were going to retreat or stand their ground. Hopefully Bulba would show himself to be the coward he is and try to escape while his men were distracted, it would make it easier for the two Jedi to capture him.

"Well, you gonna hand him over or not?" Vos's keen eyes swept the surroundings, assessing their opponents visible weaknesses.

"I don't think so, ya yella faced rat!" The Weequay growled.

"Finish them." Came a command from one of their wrist-comms.

"Be fun offin' a Jedi. Bet the lightsaber goes for some shiny coin!" The tower guard said. "Let 'em 'ave it boys!"

And so it began. A barrage of blaster fire from at least ten or twelve energy weapons from a half moon arch around them. Some came from above, from the towers, some from the assembled men and assorted creatures.

Cursing under her breath as the sound of blaster fire permeated the air Renia peaked up over their cover hoping to catch sight of their target. "Apparently, Obi-Wan's diplomatic efforts weren't successful." Not that she had really expected things to go well, there had still been a small sliver of hope that they would go well. "Aayla, look I think that's him." She said point to the far side of the compound, a group of Zygerrians running for a freighter on a nearby landing pad.

The Twi'lek nodded, "let's go."

That said, she quickly, lightly descended from their elevation, blue lightsaber igniting as she dropped to the ground gracefully, her lekku dancing. "Halt, in the name of the Republic!"

The Zygerrians stopped and turned briefly, shocked that they'd been attacked from two fronts, but they recovered quickly. Two of the guards sported vibro-staves and fell into a defensive posture while the other two as well as Bulba pulled out an assortment of blasters each.

"There is no Republic here, Jedi fools!" Taras chuckled. "Oh I could sell you for some lovely coin, my dear."

"You won't get that chance." Renia said as she came up beside Aayla, her own light blue sabers glowing brightly as she stared down the slavers. "This is your last chance surrender and the Republic may be lenient." Although not likely, thankfully many systems even the far less scrupulous ones still took a dim view of slavery. If...when it came to a fight Renia was focused more on the two with the blades, they could be a problem; big and strong the pair had a hundred pounds or two on her. They were most likely for show but even an untrained opponent with a sharp enough blade could be dangerous.

"Yeeeah, no." Taras Bulba chuckled, "get 'em, boys."

Aayla's lekku twitched with anger and revulsion but she managed to keep her calm. "Very well, then." She sighed and brought her blade up in a Soresu specific pose of defense, hilt up above her head blade pointed down and away from her.

She blocked and dodged the one on the left easily, using the Force to push the one with twin blasters behind him.

As Aayla engaged the blaster wielding bodyguards, Renia focused on the closer of the two bladed mooks, her Force enhanced jump propelling her into the man at speed. Bringing his vibro-blade up to block her downward slashes, Ren cringed at the impact of her lightsabers against the cortosis weaved durasteel. The man was strong, barely moving back as they crossed blades. Jumping back and narrowly missing a strike from the Weequay's partner. He was fast for such a big guy, they both were.

But Ren was no slouch herself, knowing the defensive weaknesses of her chosen Jar'kai form Master Di had made sure she built up enough physical strength to hold her blocks. Annoying at the time, Ren was more than thankful for it now, as she pushed the other large bodyguard back.

The guard growled in pain as an invisible wall slammed into him and pushed him far away from the others. Tara's meanwhile took pot shots at each of the women where he could, training his blaster at Renia now as her focus was shifted to one of his bladed guards.

Aayla managed to dispatch fully with the blaster one as she jumped over him and slashed at his back through the air, not even really noticing that he lay motionless on the ground now. The bladed mook came for her but was quickly disarmed and slammed into the nearby electrowire.

With the second bladed bodyguard disabled Ren was free to focus on his stronger and faster partner. Even with her superior speed, agility and training she wasn't able to simply overpower him. His style was wild and unruly making it hard to predict in the heat of the moment. The wild moves; sudden attacks and feints were making it difficult for Ren to find a rhythm. Difficult but not impossible, slowly as the Weequay began to tire a more discernable pattern to his attacks became apparent. Quickly adjusting her grip, Ren once again went on the attack, lightsabers flashing brightly as they impacted rapidly against the cortosis weave of her enemy's blade.

Focusing on speed rather than raw strength, Ren was overwhelming his hastily put up defences; clearly the man was not used to facing opponents he could not simply overpower. Attacking from the left and quickly spinning to the right she pushed him back step by step, the tempo of her strikes increasing with each spin of her light blue blades. He soon made his fatal mistake. Blocking her strike early and high he left himself open for her next spin, his thigh vulnerable. Catching him across the top the large weequay stumbled allowing Ren to duck under his guard and mercifully dispatch him with another swipe up his back.

"Stand down Bulba!" Aayla called as he trained his pistol at Renia's back.

Feeling the sudden warning of danger through the Force Ren pivoted to her left, the high-energy bolt piercing her shoulder rather than her back. Ripping a cry of pain from her throat Ren dropped to one knee, one of her lightsabers falling to the dirt, her other coming up in a defensive posture as she turned to face her new attacker.

Down below in the slave pits Valanthe was experiencing one of the worst times of her life. The utterly abysmal state of the slaves was overpowering. There was a woman, she could feel her with a strong Force signature, clearly a Force sensitive.

 _Did she not get noticed by the Council? She must have - the Kyber Crystal has the names of all the Force sensitive children. Parents didn't let her go. Or maybe she was born a slave?_ Thoughts ran through Vala's head as she slowly approached one of the guards inside the pit.

He was watching another guard trying to force himself upon a struggling woman. Her pain, fear and determination to not let him almost forced Valanthe to her knees as she approached. She reached out through the Force and grabbed the guard in front of her, slamming him into the nearest wall, using the other hand then to Force push the other guard away into the wall behind him.

"Shhh, we're here to rescue you." She quickly crawled over to the scared woman after she checked the two guards were incapacitated. "Please, there's others above who are taking care of the guards, I need you to help me with the others, alright?"

As best she could, Valanthe sent calming ripples through the Force at the woman.

Finally she managed to calm down enough to nod. "Th...thank you." She managed in broken Aurabesh.

Valanthe undid her bindings and then freed the rest of the women and children in the pit then organized them so that they followed her in a line, while she dispatched the guards in the male pit and freed them as well.

Meanwhile, above, Aayla acted quickly, yet not quickly enough. She reached out and pulled the pistol out of Bulba's hand and stepped forward, extending her saber so that it moved close to his neck. It seemed for a moment they really did only understand force.

"Stand _down!_ " The Twi'lek growled. "Are you alright?" She called to Renia.

At that point the Distraction Trio walked over, having secured the gates and the other guards, the Sermeria Rangers taking them into custody while they were subdued.

" _I've been better._ " The three elder Jedi heard Renia growl out through tightly clenched teeth, the woman clearly trying to bare as much of the pain as possible. Many commented the worse part about a shot from a blaster was how a burning sensation seemed to persist even after the initial injury; a fact all three knew quite well. Moving ahead of the others the Togruta Master kneeled beside the younger woman, giving her a comforting smile as she pulled Ren's good hand away to inspect the damage.

"She will need further medical attention, but I believe I can do enough here that there shouldn't be any permanent injury." Shaak announced to the group, as she placed a couple of bacta patches over Ren's shoulder, imbuing them with the Force to quicken the healing power of the gel. Hearing a pained hiss emanate from the younger Jedi at the touch of the pads, Shaak placed a hand lightly on the woman's back. "Breath easy Renia, allow the Force to do its work here."

"I'm doing my best Master." Ren replied, her jaw still tight, but her breathing had slowed somewhat. The cooling of the gel combined with Shaak Ti's calming words was certainly having an effect.

 _I'm doing my best Master._ The words accompanied by the sight of a hunched over Renia echoed in Valanthe's head as she made her way to the surface with the freed slaves.

Everything she'd seen below, the sheer decomposition of Humanoid life, the pain, the anguish the suffering, the utter desolation of their conditions had weighed the Jedi investigator down as if they were a giant rock strapped to her back.

She stood there frozen for a moment as it all kicked in, amplified by the terror the Force sensitive woman was projecting at the sight of the subdued Zyggerian.

Quinlan who had bound him along with Obi-Wan turned as he sensed the stunned presence. "Aayla, see to the slaves, take them to the rangers, they'll give them food, water and shelter." He ushered his Padawan, the only one who seemed mostly unaffected by the spectacle.

Vala snapped back suddenly suddenly as Obi-Wan's presence was felt coming closer to her.

"Did we get them?" The Mirialan asked quietly.

"We did. The majority surrendered as soon as they saw the gate guards fall, the ones that fled surely have been picked up by the Rangers by now." Obi-Wan replied walking over, a look of concern on his face as he felt the unease coming from Valanthe. "Renia and Aayla succeeded in capturing Bulba however as you can see they did not come out unscathed."

Valanthe nodded slowly, forcing herself under control. "Where is he?"

Aayla passed by her at that point and spoke to the slaves who then followed her and exited the compound to be greeted by the Sermerian Rangers.

"Over here, we have him secured and will keep him here until a ship arrives to take him to a more secure facility. I fear that even though his compound here has been dealt with that if he remains on the planet his allies will attempt a rescue." Obi-Wan said as he turned and led the woman to where the short battle had taken place. "There may in fact be constant risk of his escape until we can get him securely into Republic custody."

Valanthe nodded in agreement. "And there may also be a risk of him walking away scott free. These people have so much money and connection they don't know what to do with it anymore." Her tone came out clipped and strained.

"Perhaps, although I don't think that is very likely." Obi-Wan replied with a slow stroke of his beard. "Testimony of six Jedi, various rangers, not to mention the freed slaves...I would think it would be very hard to refute all of that."

 _Look at him, even chained, he's laughing at us._ Valanthe looked over at the chuckling man. "Vot is it you think you heff accomplished here tooday, Jedaii?" He goaded.

Valanthe stepped closer to him, narrowing her eyes at him. "An end to your enterprise. You have ruined so many lives. No more."

The man merely smirked at her, "or what, Jedaii? You tink Republic legislature will be the end of me? I heff powerful friends, powerful friends who would like a green slave such as yoo." He went on.

The sad part was, she believed him. An enterprise such as that one couldn't exist without a backup of some sort within the legal circles.

"You ken't kill me, Jedaii. Your kind does not kill unless provoked." He smirked at the stone faced woman. "I am unarmed. Vot ken you do? I will get out sooner den you tink. End den, my new ring will be even more profitable."

Valanthe bit the inside of her cheek, "see, the thing is, your ring is nothing without you. Your mean fear you as long as you draw breath." She stepped closer to him.

Taras grinned, "det's right, Jedaii. And there is nothing you can do about it."

Something inside her broke at that moment. He was right. The Jedi unwillingness to act, the snail pace of the Republic judicial system. It would only slow him down, but not stop him. He _had_ to be stopped though. But how?

Valanthe always considered herself as someone who could and would take on the brunt of the heaviest tasks. Tasks most others would balk at or outright refused. It mostly stemmed from belief she was damaged enough to bear it, instead of letting someone else whom she thought to be purer in the Light Side get themselves tainted.

An answer came to her without much thought as the lightsaber she held in her hand came to life with lightning speed and embedded itself onto Taras Bulba's chest.

She felt nothing as her blade cut through the Zyggerian, as it severed the tendons of life from within him. She felt no anger, no rage, no fear. Just a need for the act to happen. He was a threat to life as people of the Expansion Region and beyond knew it and was powerful enough to slip through cracks. He _needed_ to be stopped, the circle _had_ to be broken.

" **VALANTHE NO!** " Obi-Wan yelled seeing the woman's saber ignite. Running forward he tried to reach them before she could strike the killing blow. But two meters might as well have been two parsecs. They were too close together and Obi-Wan wasn't fast enough, he hadn't even been ready. The conversation had been tense yes, but not in a million years would he have expected this.

Reaching them as the last of Bulba's life drained away and his body fell limply to the ground, all Kenobi could do was kneel down and check the body. Laying his hand on the Zyggerian's chest, he could find no trace of the living force left, Taras Bulba was dead. Standing, he turned to face Valanthe who like the others had remained motionless, saber humming away at her side.

"How could... that wasn't...That is not our way Valanthe! Have you truly fallen so far that you can't see that?" Obi-Wan accused, his emotions getting the better of him. Not quite sure what to do with her now, he focused on the weapon in her hand. "Valanthe, relinquish your saber." Obi-Wan ordered, his own activating with a loud, reverberating snap-hiss. "Don't make me have to take it from you."

The dark green blade diminished with a hiss as the Mirialan turned towards him. Extending her hand to him, she relinquished her lightsaber as requested. "I did not forget that this is not the Jedi way, my friend. I chose to not follow it this time. He needed to be stopped and we were all thinking of doing this. I just took the necessary step." Her tone was a little broken, deflated as the adrenaline left her and she started to cave under the pressure of the experience within the camp.

Briefly she looked over at Renia with a sad smile, "are you alright?"

"I...I think so, yes…" Ren was once again floored by her friends actions. She never thought she'd see the day when a Jedi executed someone and she certainly wouldn't have expected Vala… and Obi-Wan's reaction on top of that. "Are you?"

Renia was hesitant to ask, she could tell her friend was bothered even before killing the slaver. Her eyes briefly flicking to Obi-Wan who looked just as surprised as she did. Still Ren did breath a sigh of relief as she saw him deactivate his saber and return both to his belt.

Valanthe simply shook her head negative and headed past them, needing to get away from the emotional barrage that just wouldn't stop.

Ren tried to stand and follow her friend but Master Ti's hand resting lightly on her good shoulder kept the woman in place. Turning to the Togruta, Ren began to plead with her but with a simple shake of her head the Jedi Master put an end to that conversation. Renia, with tears threatening to fall from her eyes, was forced to watch her friend walk away and everyone: Jedi, Ranger and Slave giving her a wide berth.

Vos sighed at the sight. Valanthe was a good kid in his book, one willing to do what was needed. He liked to think of himself as someone who did too, yet he hesitated. He waited and practically let her do it, instead taking the responsibility onto himself as a Master, as he should have. His actions gave him plenty to think on after this was over.

But right now, Valanthe needed one of them to go after her. So, true to his fashion, he punched Kenobi in the shoulder.

"Go _after_ her!"

Looking between Vos and Valanthe's retreating form a couple of times, Obi-Wan finally relented with a sigh and nod. Taking a deep breath he jogged after the woman calling after her to wait.

Riis did stop near the ruined guard tower, leaning against it, her arms crossed under her chest, grasping the other as she shook slightly as her muscles lacked fuel to keep then flexing normally.

"I know what I did, Obi-Wan." She said in a defeated tone. Everything would change now. Everything _had_ changed now.

Catching up, Obi-Wan wasn't really sure what to say. She knew what she did...but did she really? Executing a man, even one as vile as that without pause, what do you really say to that? He instead took to standing there for a moment staring out at the same view as Valanthe, hoping it would give him some insight, some indication of what they had to do next.

"Well this is a day of firsts. I killed Bulba and you're speechelss." The chuckle she gave was hollow, bitter.

She felt like a piece of her soul had been ripped out.

"Leave it to you to find the one bit of silver lining on such a clouded day as this." Obi-Wan replied with his own sad chuckle. "Did...did I fail in some way?" He finally asked. Honestly he wasn't entirely sure why. Obi-Wan hadn't been Valanthe's Master, nor had he been the one to assign her to the various missions she'd been on or even selected her to be part of the mission.

And yet he felt like he had failed her, his comrade, and most importantly his friend. And not just her, but Renia and Aayla and Shaak Ti...even Vos though he'd never admit it. It seemed as though he should have foreseen this possibility and kept it from coming to fruition. That he should have found a way to resolve things that meant Valanthe didn't have to take the actions she did.

Valanthe blinked in surprise. It hadn't been the question she'd expected. She'd expected a very emphatic _why?._ "Fail? No my friend, you failed nothing. If anyone failed this mission, it is I. Yet, in the end, we succeeded. But the cost…" Despite herself, her heart swelled with fondness for the sandy haired Jedi. "No, Obi-Wan..you did not fail."

"And yet I'm not sure if it's better if you are wrong or right." Obi-Wan sighed deeply. Part of him wanted to believe Valanthe, that it wasn't his fault. But believing that didn't seem right either. That meant that _she_ was the one at fault and to put the whole situation squarely on her shoulders didn't sit right. Obi-Wan couldn't believe there was nothing he could have done to avoid this. He couldn't believe that any more than he could simply blame Valanthe, blame his friend.

"I did what needed to truly be done." She said finally, with a stronger voice. "Someone needed to act past our own restrictions. I chose to be that someone. I didn't do it out of hate or anger or fear. I didn't _feel_ anything really." Vala admitted as she finally turned to him. "It…" she wanted to add but dropped it, "I will face the Council for my action."

It was tempting to push a bit, find out what she was going to say, but this wasn't the time. "Yes you will, but you won't have to do it alone." Obi-Wan wasn't sure he could speak for the rest of the team but he would stand by her. He may not agree with her final decision but after speaking with Valanthe, he was starting to understand.

"You also might want to have this, wouldn't do to show up to the Council half-naked." He said with a slight grin holding out her saber.

 _ **===***END FLASHBACK***===**_

Valanthe chuckled softly as she looked over at him now, seven years on, on the Bridge of a star destroyer. "That mission changed it all, but as much as I miss my friends in the Order, I believe it was the right path to follow…"

"I may not have believed it at the time, but looking back I'm starting to agree." Obi-Wan replied. That mission had changed so much, for more than just either of them or even the rest of the team. Her actions had directly led to taking the Zygerrian Slave Empire down. "I don't think I really understood the importance of finding your own path and trusting it when you do."

Valanthe nodded, "it took _me_ years to realize it. Speaking of own paths," she frowned slightly, "what's happend to Quin? I've managed to run into or talk to everyone except him."

"I'm not entirely sure, you know Vos always off on one of his missions." Obi-Wan said with an amused shake of his head. "And yet somehow I expect he's right in the thick of it all."

Valanthe nodded, "Force help him. This is only going to get worse before it gets better."


	9. Chapter 9: Sermeria's Call

**A/N:** Another fun piece co-written with **Asami**. :)

Huge thanks to **NixNox** and **Sketch** (aka Tyren) - who has kindly and skillfully added his own touch to the story by making the cover. :).

Some mando'a in this chapter, we attempted to piece together two sentences using . Hopefully you guys who are more versed in mando'a won't hold it too much against us. ;) Translations are below the text.

* * *

Valanthe tried desperately to hide her discomfort as she held onto the handrail that traversed the roof of the LAAT/i vehicle. They had reached Sermeria's orbit which wasn't under as much attack as they'd anticipated. Which only meant that there was a lot more ground combat going on, since there _was_ no Republic resistance until now. Obi-Wan and Anakin had gathered their troops and decided on a two pronged assault. The legendary duo would read the front assault on the ground with Commander Cody and Captain Rex, while Ahsoka and Admiral Yularen would lead the attack in orbit. Valanthe had a special assignment along with ARC Troopers Echo and Fives. They were to sneak through to General Vinree's fortified position and assist them in holding it until an LZ could be cleared by Kenobi and Skywalker.

The discomfort she felt, however, wasn't about the upcoming battle. It was the fact she discovered only just now that she appeared to be space sick. Or just really not liking being on vehicles with no inertia dampeners. She could feel that Fives and Echo had noticed her slightly yellowish tinge on her green skin, but they kept their amusement to themselves.

"First combat drop, eh, Valanthe?" Anakin teased from the other end of the vehicle where he was conferring with Rex, Cody and Obi-Wan.

 _Spirits help me, I will throttle him._ She thought miserably as her stomach sank into her feet and glued her to the floor. "I'm fine, Anakin. Go on with the briefing."

Well the re-briefing as they were getting the latest intel.

"Seven minutes to touchdown." Echo said in as kind a tone as he could muster from her left, while Fives had taken position on her right.

* * *

Ren practically collapsed as she made it back to the relative quiet of their temporary command center. Since sending out their distress call two days ago the Separatists had been coming at them harder than before. It seemed that whether their transmission had gotten through or not, the enemy had intercepted the transmission. Ren had to believe the Republic had received their call for help and would be sending someone to evacuate them; or at the very least to help them hold out until a rescue force could be assembled. She knew the Jedi would not leave them to be the destroyed and she hoped the Republic wouldn't either. Ren had said as much to her Padawan, someone would come for them. Now two days on and the elder Jedi was starting to have some doubts herself. She knew they were isolated from the other Clone forces but she didn't think they were this far out there; of course two days of near constant fighting and retreating certainly made things take longer.

And it was starting to take its toll.

The 442nd had suffered extreme casualties, especially on the dawn of the second day when they tried to use their gunships to pull back again. The Separatists had set up an immense array of anti-air emplacements and shot down most of the first wave to gunships. Not only was their loss demoralizing but it made their retreat that much harder and it left several squads of clones trapped behind enemy lines. Ren knew they were alive, she could feel them through the Force; their courage, their determination, their pride, their resolve, and most of all their fear. She had tried to hold out the line and make a push to get to them, but there just weren't enough troopers left to do both. With tears in her eyes Ren had ordered the retreat to continue, she could only hope those men would be able to find their back to them.

That had been over ten hours ago.

Now in their new position, the last fall back position before the evacuation zone, they had a little time to rest and recuperate before the Separatists caught up. But not much time, and it felt like there was less and less after every retreat. At their last position there had barely been enough time to set up their defenses before the first droids were sighted, let alone get and rest or food.

And it appeared this time would be no different.

Extending her senses, Ren could feel the sudden change in the air, in the Force. Droids had been spotted and they were close. In that moment Nemina burst into the post, looking as tired and worn out as the rest, her usual natural beauty marred by dirt blood and injury.

"Master..."

"I know Mina, they're here already." Ren said with a sigh, sabers already in hand. "Let's get back on the line..."

Looks like rest would have to wait, although she hoped there were enough service personnel left to get some food going. The clones would need it if they were going to make it through another day of this.

* * *

" _General Kenobi, General Skywalker!_ " The clone pilot, Crash called from the cockpit of their LAAT/i. " _The LZ is hot, clankers all over the place. It's been overrun!_ "

Valanthe felt the mood in the transport vehicles drop considerably. Were they too late? Spirits, she hoped not.

"Understood, Crash. Is there anywhere close to land?" Anakin spoke into his wrist-com, his tone of voice switching from jovial to serious in two seconds flat.

" _Negative, General._ "

The young knight looked over to his former Master and best friend for guidance, as did the former Jedi. Both Anakin and Valanthe knew this can't have been it, so Obi-Wan _had_ to have a plan.

"Renia would have continued the retreat if it looked like they were going to be overrun here, that's the point of Case Orange, to let a defeated force survive as long as possible," Obi-wan said, considering their options. "We must continue on with the plan, there are several wide open plains near here we can land our main force. We'll begin our attack from there, we'll drop Valenthe and her force between here and there to do reconnaissance and perhaps even locate the four-forty-second."

Riis nodded, "best we don't land at all, I can extend the cloak around Fives, Echo and myself for a short time, so we'll need cover fire for that moment, then we can sneak past them relatively easily."

"Uh, Commander?" Fives' bucket turned towards her and she could feel his surprise mixed with confusion.

"You'll have to trust me, Fives." Vala chuckled, "I can get us down and past them if they provide covering fire."

"Keep the droids distracted, while we slip towards Case Orange." Echo then supplied, the wheels in his head turning.

The Mirialan nodded, "exactly."

"You sure?" Anakin had to ask. He couldn't help but wonder if Valanthe's skills had deteriorated in civilian life. After all, one hardly used the Force when not a Jedi or a Sith, no?

She wasn't, no. But for the sake of everyone and the two ARCs going with her she nodded confidently.

"It's settled then." Obi-wan said with a nod and grateful smile. "Crash we're going to need to create a bit of a distraction in a moment. Contact Tiny and have him bring in a flight of bombers as well I want to put on a show."

The corner of Valanthe's lips quirked upwards as she turned to Fives and Echo. "Alright, you need to do exactly as I tell you for this to work."

Two buckets moved affirmatively.

"Hold onto the back of my coat and don't speak. Try to be as calm as you can. It takes a lot of focus and concentration to extend a Force cloak so my mind will be on that. What I will need you to do however, is steer me. Your HUD's will be able to show a path towards Case Orange from our drop point, so grab and steer, ok?" The last was said with an amused smile as their conflicting emotions of wanting to listen to her instruction and wanting to shoot down clankers flowed from their Force signatures.

"Yes, Commander." Fives managed finally.

Valanthe nodded as she moved them towards the doors, holding onto the hand grips, hoping that she wouldn't lose the contents of her stomach in the process as her discomfort at being in flight did not ebb.

Moments later, Crash sounded off again, " _General, Tiny's bombers will be here in a minute, whatever we're going to do we need to do it now!_ "

"Understood, Crash begin your attack run and on your way out fly low to allow us to make the drop." Obi-wan ordered already feeling the gunship begin to bank to the left, the others on its wing doing the same. It wouldn't be a full attack, but between their strafing runs and Tiny's bombing there should be enough of a distraction for Valanthe to slip through.

"Whenever you're ready." He said, turning back to the Miralan.

Valanthe nodded to Echo and Fives. As she felt gloved hands grab the back of her coat, one between her shoulderblades and one towards the small of her back, she sensed their unease. So, she projected a wave of calm at them and focused. Within moments, she felt the Force envelop them, shrouding them from the sight of others.

She pulled her lightsaber out as the LAAT/i begun to descend in its outbound maneuver. Without much warning the doors opened. Reaching behind her quickly, she grabbed at Fives and Echo's belts and jumped. The gloved hands gripped her tightly and she felt them lean against her back as they dropped to their knees on the ground. In the back of her mind, she heard the LAAT/i's with the main forces fly away.

As she felt them reorient themselves, there was a tug on the left, the hand between her shoulder blades. There was a group of droids incoming, two squads of standard battle droids and one squad of destroyers straight towards them. Vala raised her hand, bent up at the elbow and closed her wrist, the universal sign to stop.

For all the theory, they had to be sure if the rouse was working or if they were going to be sitting ducks in a matter of moments. Harrowing moments passed as the trio waited with baited breath.

The droids made no sign that they had seen or heard them and continued marching straight past them. She could feel her two ARCs clench and hold back with iron will from attack. Once they unclenched, she made another motion, one to move on.

The shoulder-blade hand, Echo's tugged again and she followed the direction of the tug as they moved at an even, semi crouched pace. Each had their weapon in a free hand, watching, waiting hoping that that sudden attack wouldn't come until they could find some cover.

Either way, they would need to find one soon, because Valanthe could only hold the cloak up for so long.

As they cleared the LZ, Riis looked for any kind of entrenchment nearby. The only problem was, the nearby ended up being about a kilometer away.

It took them a bit of time to adjust to walking practically tethered to each other so movement was awkward. Both the clones and Vala being adaptable they covered good time and made the entrenchment. When they dropped down the trench and she released the cloak, she was sweaty and exhausted.

"Commander?" Echo placed a hand on her shoulder as she leaned against the trench wall. Fives, meanwhile, did a scan of their surroundings, watching for the incoming enemy.

Taking a few deep breaths, Vala nodded slowly, "I'm fine, Echo. It's just a little taxing, is all." She threw the gentle ARC a smile before looking over at his gregarious brother. "What's the skinny, Fives?"

"Well, from what I can tell, the next click in each direction is clear. General Vinree's forces retreated from here with heavy resistance…" the last one came out with a sigh, as he looked around the battlefield.

It was littered with the bodies of his fallen brothers. The sight was sad, haunting, horrible. An image that would surely remain seared into her memory. Valanthe hung her head momentarily in a moment of silence. Sobering up, she looked ahead of them.

"How far till the next entrenchment point?"

Fives stepped over to her, showing her a path on the scanning device. "This area here is two clicks away, more heavily fortified, likely the area from where we received the distress call."

Valanthe nodded, "alright. We'll stay like this for the time being to allow us to move faster, but the moment I sense droids I'll cloak us again."

Those haunting buckets nodded again. Valanthe gave the motion to move, stepping forward first much to their surprise. Sure they were used to General Skywalker leading the charge along with his Padawan, but this Lady Commander didn't seem like the charge first type. Saber in hand, Valanthe nodded at the two and began moving towards the next holdout, hoping the carnage there wasn't as bad as at their current location.

 **Meanwhile...**

No-Nines hated the groaning, hearing the suffering of his men, his brothers. He wouldn't say he was used to it, but it had become an unpleasant constant in his life since the first battle of Geonosis. Still he hadn't heard it so constantly as he had over the last week.

"Isn't there anything you can do for them Dizzy?" the Clone Sergeant asked, kneeling down next to medic. No-Nines had been rather lucky coming through the crash relatively unscathed, most of his evacuation group hadn't been as fortunate the Separatist AA catching them completely off guard. More than half on his ship had died in the crash and most of the others were wounded. Only he, Dizzy and two others came out in fighting shape.

"Not here I can't, they need a Doctor and a bacta tank," The medic replied, his voice strained and tired. "I can stabilize some and make the others comfortable but beyond that…"

"Can they be moved?"

"I'd rather not, to be honest...why?" Dizzy asked pulling off his helmet to wipe his brow.

"We can't stay here, eventually the clankers are going to come and poke through these crashed gunships looking for survivors, we do not want to be here when that happens." Droids didn't care much for clone lives and it seemed like they rarely took prisoners unless they needed information. No-Nines did not intend to be one of those casualties and he certainly wasn't going to be a prisoner.

"I'll see what I can do, but some of these boys might not survive a move," Dizzy said, his eyes focusing on the gunship's co-pilot, a shiny named Goose. He'd gotten pretty banged up in the crash, it was no small miracle he'd survived this long. He also happened to be one of the wounded who would need to be carried.

"That's all I can ask Dizzy, I'll get the boys organized and scout a good location for us to move to. Get prepared for a long walk, if Landslide hasn't had any luck with that transmitter then we're going to have to walk all the way back to the General."

Slapping his hand encouragingly on Dizzy's armored shoulder, the ARC Sergeant stood and made his way over to the crashed gunship, hoping against hope that Landslide had managed to fix the mangled piece of equipment. He really didn't look forward to a long tab back to the unit.

About seven hundred metres from their position, Valanthe motioned for the group to stop suddenly. There was something on the edge of her senses, something faint. Something decidedly not metallic.

"Commander?" Fives queried as they stopped, alert and looking around.

This Commander was even more unusual than Commander Tano. With the Togruta things were mostly pretty clear, albeit as crazy as her Master's. Commander Riis on the other hand was all thought and mysterious expressions. As much as part of him was intrigued, the other part of Fives worried she took too little time deciding and acting and too much time thinking.

Out of all of the Jedi Commander's he'd met, it was Kenobi who seemed the best blend of the two mindsets to him.

"I think there are survivors up ahead," Valanthe finally said as she opened her eyes. "Just over half a click."

Echo took out his own quadnoculars and scanned ahead of them. "Looks like a downed LAAT/i. Can't tell if it's one of ours or General Vinree's but there _are_ lifesigns ahead."

Valanthe nodded, "alright, quiet approach, be on the lookout for a trap just in case, for all we know we have droids waiting in ambush."

Fives and Echo nodded and all three dropped into the semi-crouch, weapons at the ready. Vala was still somewhat hesitant to ignite her lightsaber, not having properly used it in years. Could she properly and confidently use it now?

Something told her there would be little choice in the matter soon enough. As they neared a nearby rock elevation, the trio ducked behind it. Vala opened up her senses.

"I don't sense an ambush, just...very worried and scared clones." The Mirialan sighed.

Fives crouched to her right, somehow it was always her right. "They may react better if Echo and I are the first in line of sight."

Valanthe wasn't sure why that would be the case, but she sensed confidence and determination from him, so she nodded. "Alright, Fives. On your lead."

Fives nodded, took a deep breath and motioned for Echo to follow him. He inclined his head to Echo and the two seemed to be conversing but Valanthe couldn't hear anything. So she assumed they must have had a private channel on.

The two lead the way towards the battered group of their brothers. Valanthe followed after them under the cover of the Force.

"Burc'ya, vod!" Fives called in Mandalorian, something all clones learned at one point or another, having been trained by people from the culture and having themselves stemmed from the Mandalorian culture via their genetic father, Jango Fett.

Hearing a voice call out from behind him in Madalorian, No-Nines turned quickly raising his DC-15 and pointing it right at where the voice had come from. The others had been surprised, more than he had actually but quickly followed suit. Even a couple of their wounded had picked up a weapon and covered a sector.

"Olaror dayn, at jorhaa'ir bal cuyir susulur'en!" No-Nines shouted back, unsure if they really were clones or some of those new commando droids he'd heard about. Regardless, whoever they were they better come out soon or he wasn't going to take any chances.

Valanthe muttered underbreath, "helmets. They're not trusting."

Fives nodded to Echo and the two removed their helmets in unison as they stepped towards the tense group.

"ARC Fives and ARC Echo from the 501st!" Fives called.

He understood his brother's predicament and hoped that they weren't frazzled beyond recognition. As much as they were all engineered to withstand any stress, he was soon learning you can't account for everything.

Seeing the two clones step out of their cover, No-Nines breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing they were from the 501st was no small thing either, that meant their relief had finally arrived.

"Stand down boys, they're friendly," He said, getting up and walking over to the two fellow ARCs, sticking his hand out to greet his brothers. "No-Nines, four-forty-second."

Echo and Fives shook his hand firmly as Valanthe stepped over seemingly out of nowhere.

"Valanthe Riis, Intelligence," She nodded, extending her hand as well. In this instance she felt that the less standing on formality was best.

No-Nines looked worn, beat and wrung out all in one, and worse. Scorch marks, blood, dirt, bruises. The crash and the attack didn't treat the survivors kindly.

"Good to meet you ma'am," No-Nines replied, shaking her hand as well once he'd gotten over the shock of the Mirialan appearing out of nowhere. It was surprising yes, but he wasn't going to complain, considering the state of things one more blaster was appreciated; even one from intelligence. Looking the woman over however she seemed different and yet familiar almost like…

"You're a Jedi…" He said without thinking, his eyebrows raising all the way to his hairline. He couldn't help himself, she just seemed so much like the General. He couldn't really explain it, but he just knew.

Valanthe leaned her head slightly to the right, eyes scrutinizing the ARC in green. "I used to be. Just helping the relief out at present."

"The Commander doesn't like being called _The Commander_." Fives added with a smirk.

There was something different about the green ARC, she couldn't place it though. Was it experience? Considering Fives and Echo were technically still in training or was it something else?

She raised an amused eyebrow at Fives before looking at No-Nines. "What's the situation? How are your men?"

"We're pretty beat up Com...ma'am. Got shot down trying to evacuate to our next position," No-Nines replied, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder at the still smoking LAAT/i behind them. "Ten dead, seven wounded and four operational, including myself. Transmitter's also busted so we've got no way of contacting the General."

Not to mention they were low on medical supplies, food, water and most importantly ammunition. They basically only had whatever each individual clone had been carrying with them when they crashed. The plan had been to resupply when they got to the next fall back point, that way they could load more troopers on the gunship.

Valanthe sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What a waste of lives," she uttered a soft mutter. "Status of General Vinree and the rest of the troops, do you know?"

No-Nines nodded his agreement. It did seem like a waste, these men should have been allowed to go down fighting. "Last I heard the General was alive, she's been fighting on the lines but has come through ok. Waits until the last ships are ready to go before pulling back herself. I assume since they haven't come to get us, they were forced to pull back to the next position. We were mid evac at the time."

Intellectually he knew the reasons they were left behind and how much it must have pained the General and their brothers to do so. He understood, but No-Nines wouldn't lie it wasn't a good feeling either, to be the ones left behind. "That was several hours ago ma'am, if the tempo of the Separatist attacks has kept up they may have had to pull back again."

Valanthe nodded, "alright. Here's what we're going to do. Grab what we can carry, ready the wounded and move along the fallback course. With Fives, Echo and myself to assist you, we need to make our way to the General's position and reinforce them until Generals Kenobi and Skywalker can clear the main front and let us all exfil."

She looked up at the clone again. His Force signature was a lot stronger than any of the others, even Echo's and Fives'. "I know I'm not your General, No-Nines, but I'm here to help."

"And I appreciate it, ma'am. You may not be my General, but you are a Commander and more importantly you're a Jedi. That's enough for me," No-Nines said with a nod, ready if not eager to get things moving again.

Valanthe bit back a retort at how she was not a Jedi, but she'd seen Fives' shoulders shake with silent amusement. Well outwardly it was silent, he echoed a lot of inner laughter.

So she nodded, "alright, ready your men for moving."

"Yes sir!" No-Nines said, snapping to attention, acknowledging her order. Smirking as he put his helmet back on, the ARC Sergeant walked back to his men, his stride just that little bit more purposeful.

"You heard the Commander, space rats! Time to stop your goldbricking, we move out in ten!"

Valanthe shook her head amusedly, looking over at Fives and Echo. "Well that's new."

"Oh wait till you hear Captain Rex and Commander Cody, ma'am." Echo interjected.

The Mirialan chuckled, "I'm sure we'll have that chance if our missions go at all well. Alright, Fives, you take point with No-Nines, Echo, take the back I'll stick to the middle with the wounded, help with their transport. The moment we detect trouble we stop and form a defensive perimeter. The three of us are the most rested and in best shape so we'll need to keep these guys safe."

As in their shiny days, Echo and Fives snapped to attention barking out, "sir, yes, sir!" They jogged over to No-Nines and his men while Valanthe stayed behind for a moment.

She closed her eyes and opened up her mind, searching, feeling. Renia's Padawan was also with her, maybe if she could sense either of them, she could bring some good news to the wounded warriors.

Fives nodded to Echo as he and one of the corporals took up the back of the column, helping the medic load up the men.

"Vod, what's your ammo count?" Fives glanced over at No-Nines.

"Low, to say the least," No-Nines replied with a sigh. "We separated it out about as evenly as we could, the four of us have what's in our weapon and three reserve packs and each of the wounded who can still hold a blaster have their current load and one reserve. We weren't carrying much to begin with and we already scavenged what we could from the dead."

Looking over at the lined up bodies of his dead brothers, No-Nines was quiet as his eyes swept across them. They wouldn't be able to take them with, so Dizzy had marked their 'graves'. Maybe they'd be able to come back someday, give the boys a proper burial.

Fives nodded and reached to the back of his belt. ARCs being mobile turrets always had extra ammo on them. He took out two more packs and handed them to No-Nines. Behind the group he noticed Echo doing the same.

"Let's hope we won't need to use all of it by the time we reach General Vinree." The rishi eel on his bucket seemed to bob along with it as he nodded.

"Agreed," The Sergeant said with a nod of thanks. "Not that I wouldn't mind paying the clankers back a bit. But these boys need to get back to a doctor or a Jedi healer if they're going to make it."

Fives nodded, looking behind them again for a sign they were ready to move. The medic gave a thumb's up, as did Echo. Now all he needed to do was snap the Commander out of that Jedi unfocus thing they seemed to like being in.

He stepped over to the Mirialan, "Commander. We're ready to move."

She couldn't sense Vinree or her Padawan, nor any of the others. Which either meant they were too far, or the unthinkable. It was Fives' strong presence that snapped her out of her defeatist thoughts.

Valanthe nodded, "alright, let's go!" she called out loudly as she jogged over to Dizzy the medic. She would help carry the wounded for the first leg to let the medic and the impromptu orderly to take a breath themselves.

Fives nodded to No-Nines as he stepped back over to him. He was letting his fellow ARC issue moving orders.

With another nod of his helmeted head, No-Nines turned in the direction they'd be heading. Raising an arm and turning it above his head before thrusting it forward, silently giving the moveout order. It wouldn't be an easy trek, especially not for the wounded. They would need to stop periodically as well, all the while dodging droids through some fairly rough terrain. But with a Jedi and two more able troopers along for the trip, they might just have a chance.

Valanthe stood between the two stretchers and extended her arms to the sides, palms downward open. With some struggle the two stretchers lifted off of the ground and came to a hover about half a foot from the ground.

Slowly, they moved, Fives and No-Nines leading the way.

Unable to stay silent, Fives switched channels to a private one with No-Nines. "So, I hear our Commander and your General are friends." He nudged in a deep, slightly teasing tone.

"Really? I mean it makes sense, I thought all Jedi were friends." No-Nines said with a shrug. General Vinree was always willing to talk about the other Jedi and some of her stories had been pretty amusing. But he didn't remember her mentioning the Commander before.

Fives shrugged, "I guess. Kind of like the vod'e. Though, the Commander is a civvie from what I'm told. Part of RMOI now, not a Jedi. How could you tell she was though?"

"I...ah...I don't know really. I just had a feeling, she reminded me of the General I guess. More than just because they're both women. She just...looked like a Jedi and once that popped into my head I just kind of knew." Really it didn't make much sense to him, it was a little disconcerting anyway. Maybe it was just the amount of time he'd spent around the General and her Padawan.

Fives glanced behind him. There was Valanthe, arms still extended, a look of focus in her features as she guided the two stretchers through the Force, letting Dizzy and his aide catch their breath. Echo and the corporal took turns watching their rear.

"Ok, tell me about Case Orange's defenses." The 501st's ARC sobered up as they continued walking.

"Well when planning this assault there was high risk that the Separatists would hit back before the main Republic force could arrive. So the General along with the other senior officers decided to set up a Case Orange plan just to be on the safe side." No-Nines hadn't been in the first of those meetings but he had been apart of the subsequent planning. At the time he was glad they had done so, now he was beyond glad.

"Ten fall back positions were selected from our objective, plus a final evacuation zone. Once we landed squads were deployed to get each of them ready. They're stocked with ammunition, food, supplies, and we have mobile artillery to assist with each retreat. By the time our ship was shot down, we'd gone through seven of them."

Fives nodded again, "so three left. When we get in range, the Commander will probably scout ahead of us, rather than using comm signals. Just in case the clankers are watching."

"Three when we were shot down, that was several hours ago." No-Nines corrected, he wanted to believe there were still three left but he really couldn't be sure. "But that sounds like a good plan, I would assume the clankers are watching."

Something itched at the back of her mind. More like slowly but surely penetrated at her mind. Valanthe felt the telltale sign of a foreshadowing migraine. In a blink, it happened and passed. A laser bolt and two ARC's wrestling. The bad thing about Force foreshadowing was that you never really got enough details to be of much help until the very moment, which you didn't know was then until it happened.

She blinked the migraine away and shook her head slightly.

"You alright, Commander?" Echo shot over to her.

The Mirialan nodded, "I'm fine, just starting to feel the focusing."

No-Nines hadn't seen the ambush coming either. The environment had seemed a little too quiet but considering where they had been for the last several days everything was quiet by comparison. No, his first indication something was wrong was the hand grasping his ankle and sweeping it out of underneath him. Letting off a single round as he fell backwards, No-Nines ended landing hard on his back, the extra cushion in his ARC armor the only thing keeping the wind being driven from his lungs.

Before he could recover a large weight jumped atop him, pinning the ARC to the dirt. Acting on instinct No-Nines planted a leg, pushing the weight over to his right. Catching a glimpse of Clone armor in the scuffle No-Nines hesitated, allowing his attacker to regain the upper hand. This time he didn't retaliate, No-Nines laying back allowing his attacker to fully pin him, a Mandalorian combat knife sitting at his throat.

"No-Nines, thought that was you," a deep and gravely, yet still distinctly clone voice chuckled out, his utter amusement clear to any who could hear them.

"Kriffing hell Oddball! Same team," No-Nines growled out at his fellow ARC, knocking the blade away from the vulnerable space in his armor. No-Nines thought he had recognized the flashes of armor and style of his attacker. Now that he could distinctly see the green and pale red paint scheme and armor additions to the helmet he was sure.

Fives had almost gotten swept in the scuffle but managed to sidestep it and pointed his rifle into the fray. He hesitated to shoot though, not wanting to hit No-Nines.

 _Of course it would happen when we were right on top of it._ Valanthe sighed to herself as she gently lowered the stretchers to the ground, feeling the others who were conscious and able to walk come see what the fuss was about.

"Uh, vod?" Fives ventured, still pointing his rifle at the attacking ARC.

"It's alright Fives, you can stand down. This is Sergeant Oddball, my laser brained excuse for a partner and fellow ARC Trooper," No-Nines said, giving Oddball an annoyed but friendly bang on the shoulder plates signaling his want to get up.

"I'm laser brained? Who was it who walked right into an ambush, chatting along like some Nabooan out for a summer walk?" Oddball shot back, humor still evident even as he teased the other trooper.

"And what was the point of that by the way, waiting here all this time you couldn't tell we weren't clankers?" No-Nines asked, ignoring the rather unbecoming comparison.

"Me and the boys have been waiting all day to hit something, seemed unprofessional to waste a perfectly good ambush." The ARC said with a shrug, turning briefly to give his team the signal to reveal themselves.

Fives shook his head at the banter, bucket bobbing and shoulders shaking with quiet laughter. "Well things are looking up, eh ma'am?" He'd almost called her Commander, but caught himself in time, secretly pleased that she found the scene just as amusing. A lot of non-clone personnel, Jedi especially were always no-nonsense and serious."

"Indeed," Vala stepped forward chuckling as well. "Go in with two ARCs, pick up two squads and two extra ARCs. That's a good day's picking, I think. Valanthe Riis, I'm with RMOI, ARCs Fives," she pointed to Fives and then at Echo in the back, "and Echo."

She turned again to Oddball. "We picked up No-Nines and his team a few clicks back. We're trying to make our way to General Vinree, help your forces reinforce until General's Kenobi and Skywalker can clear us an exfil zone."

"Funny enough, ma'am, that was on our to do list too," Oddball replied, earning an embarrassed shake of the helmet from No-Nines and a chuckle from his own team. Being an ARC, Oddball got to pick his squad and his boys tended on being the more...unusual of the 442nd's troopers. He liked the ones who were less uniformed, more rambunctious and eager to get into the thick of it. "Right after paying those clankers back anyway."

Vala smirked at him, "isn't there a Commander Oddball too?" The question popped into her head and she couldn't help herself, it came out before she could stop herself.

"Yeah there is, some kind of flyboy last I heard it; brave, dashing, quite the hero...certainly no relation of mine, ma'am," Oddball replied with a deep laugh. He'd been compared and mistaken for the Commander many times actually, but he was Oddball the other guy was Odd Ball, hard to believe people couldn't figure that one out.

Valanthe laughed along, shaking her head in amusement. "Well, do you think you could get some of your boys to carry the stretchers so I can take a break? Dizzy and the orderly will need to be up to par once we reach combat and your boys…" she glanced behind Oddball's shoulders, "seem in relatively good shape?"

"We should also put some step in it," Echo said as he came over, "it will be dark in two hours, and we're exposed."

Fives nodded, "agreed, ma'am."

Riis nodded, looking over at Oddball with a raised eyebrow. _Clones, amazing creatures,_ a thought came to her as she waited for a reply.

"My boys are more than ready, ma'am," Oddball said, his chest puffing out just a little bit. "Just give the word and we'll get moving."

 _At least he's not gushing about me being Jedi,_ she thought to herself amusedly. "Let's get going then."

Fives motioned to No-Nines and Oddball to take the lead as he stepped over to Valanthe. She could feel him watching her, she felt concern and curiosity from him, but he never voiced anything so far.

Echo went back to the end of the line and was joined by a couple of Oddball's guys. Four of the others stepped over to the stretchers and picked them up, signaling with a nod that they were ready to go.

With a nod, the two ARCs were ready to get moving and started forward, their light banter replaced quickly by cool professionalism. Despite the antics the pair — especially Oddball — could get up to, once they went to work it was clear what kind of soldiers they both were and why they were ARCs. Their every move fluid, in sync, mirroring the other like dancers performing without any music or instruction. Where one covered a sector the other had his back without needing to be told, when one slowed so did the other.

As the now large group moved, Valanthe focused her mind forward, trying to get any kind of a read on the situation ahead. At several points, she felt Fives' gloved hand on her elbow, gently nudging her this way and that as an obstacle she didn't seem to notice appeared. All she _could_ feel though was growing anxiety, the further on they went.

Slowly, she began to recognize other feelings in the mix. Fear, apprehension, resignation, hope, defeat. All swam as one into each other and around, so much so it was hard to define whom each belonged to. Valanthe could only assume they belonged to more survivors. Or at the very least Sermerian natives under attack.

Night slowly drew around them and their own tensions began to rise. They'd taken their field rations as they walked and hydrated as much as they could, but the anticipation and for some impatience was getting the better of them.

Then suddenly, they felt the ground shake in the distance and the air above went alight.

"Tracer rounds," Echo sounded off. "Must be heavy fighting going on."

Valanthe nodded. "Dizzy, pick two to guard the wounded and be ready to move them. Echo, take two and scout ahead. The rest of you, find us a cover, let's see what we're up against before we act."

Echo nodded, pointing to two of No-Nines' team. After getting confirmation from their ARC and a nod from Valanthe, the three darted off carefully.

As Dizzy, Potpie and Duster moved the wounded back from the fighting, Oddball and No-Nines spread out the rest of the boys, securing a perimeter while they looked for a good position to hold up. "Ma'am there's some good concealment here but the cover... if we're attacked I'm not liking our odds." No-Nines reported as the various clones checked in.

Valanthe nodded, "try to raise General Vinree. I'll try a method of my own. Though if the droids are at all smart, they'll be jamming their comms."

Without waiting for a confirmation, she walked over to a nearby tree and leaned against it to minimize exposure. Closing her eyes she reached out, searching for that strong, familiar presence of her friend.

Confused by her comment, Oddball watched the Mirialan as she sat down beneath a nearby tree and closed her eyes. He didn't get how sitting under a tree was going to help? Turning to share a questioning look with No-Nines.

"She's a Jedi." No-Nines shrugged, taking his own quick glance at the Commander before turning back and accessing his comm.

"Ah that makes so much more sense." It really did, Oddball had gotten a weird vibe off the green woman when they were introduced. He'd chalked it up to her Intelligence background weirding him out, but her being a Jedi fit much better.

"Does it?" Valanthe asked quietly as she stood up and returned to their position. "I'm not a Jedi anymore, just a spook."

Fives stepped over to the trio quietly. "The Commander is just as stubborn as any clone, we have a good fight on our hands there boys," he said with a chuckle. Just like all of them, he was tense and nervous too.

Vala rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head.

Before more could be said though, her wrist-comm bleeped. " _Commander, this is Echo._ " His voice was accompanied by sounds of heavy fire.

Tapping a command, Valanthe couldn't help but worry. "Go ahead, Echo."

" _Commander, you need to come and see this!_ " His tone while calm held an edge to it.

"We're on our way, hold tight. Riis out." Valanthe nodded to the three ARCs. "Dizzy, you're in charge till we get back."

"Understood ma'am, we'll keep this area secure," Dizzy said with a nod, placing his medpack on the ground and picking up a blaster. Dizzy might be a medic but he was a trooper too and could easily hold his own.

Valanthe nodded, looking over at Fives who was already in the process of tracking the scouts. "This way!" He pointed in a direction ahead of them.

The Mirialan nodded and motioned for them to head out. They broke into a half-crouched run, making sure there was enough cover around them in case they ran into any droids. After a few hundred meters they could see Echo and the other two troopers holed up behind a cover.

Beyond the cover, it sounded like mayhem.

"Commander," Echo greeted. "We have a slight problem." He said as Vala landed into cover next to him.

She motioned for the binoculars, "how slight?"

Echo gave her the binoculars, "see for yourself."

Taking a deep breath as she took them, Valanthe nodded and peeked over the top of the cover, looking through the magnifiers.

Right into a bloody, relentless battle.

"Oh kriff."

* * *

 _ **Translation:**_

" **Burc'ya, vod!"** – roughly, "I'm a friendly, brother"

" **Olaror dayn, at jorhaa'ir bal cuyir susulur'en**!" – roughly, "Come out, to speak and be heard!"


	10. Chapter 10 - Bloody Fields, part 1

**A/N** : Apologies for the delays folks, summer + holidays plus trip to Australia have held the publishing of these chapters for a bit. But alas, we (the wonderful **Kaichi** and I) are finally finished with them and are ready to present them to you. **Chapter 12** may be a bit delayed as I, **Shaliira** am getting married next week so, well...you understand. But rest assured this story _is_ continuing on.

Big thanks as usual to **Sketch** and **NixNox** for betaing. :)

Without further ado, here is **Bloody Fields, part 1**.

* * *

Valanthe felt at a loss, shocked and afraid all at once as she took in the sight below them. Renia's forces were clearly being boxed in with roughly two droids per clone, from what she could tell. The commotion was so high she couldn't even begin to count how many forces were left on each side.

She could see a precious few walkers left, the downed ones used as cover and blockade, a desperate attempt to prevent further advancement. To their far left, she could identify what looked like a droid command post, one tactical droid, elevated on his tank issuing commands to the troops. The droids were clearly looking like they had the upper hand, albeit lessened mobility. The lessened mobility didn't to much though, their aim was still true and many a soldier was felled by it.

Valanthe focused her macrobinoculars on what was slowing the droids down, wishing suddenly she hadn't. The field beneath them was littered with impact craters, bodies strewn about of all kinds. Metal, flesh, bone, armour. The once green grass was now a dulled brown and bright red in some places. Places where it wasn't burning. The smell of melting metal and burning flesh, mixed in with pathetic, sorrowful screams created a poignant, devastating scene.

The Mirialan's stomach lurched, her heart twisted in horror. iSo much death.../i How could she possibly help turn the tide when seasoned warriors got reduced to this. To a pile of torn appart corpses littering the land. How could she, a servant of the Force focused on stealth and knowledge with four tired men succeed where two battle hardened Jedi with over two thousand men couldn't? She was a spook, not a battlefield commander.

She knew this though. She couldn't afford to think about her own insecurities now. There was a job to be done, there were men to lead. Looking onward, behind the barricades as well as she could she tried to see if Renia or at least her Padawan were still alive.

As another set of explosions rocked the battlefield, Oddball peaked back up over the brim the shock wave reaching the team just as his visor cleared the edge, dirt kicking up into his face mask. Shaking the loose bits of dirt free, Oddball reached up and activated his helmet's viewfinder. To say it was a mess down there was an understatement, despite the stronger defensive position things were looking even worse than they were a few hours ago.

Their lines were weak; many of the strong points only had one or two men to a position. It was definitely a pitched fight, single clones taking on whole squads of droids practically on their own. Worst of all he wasn't a part of it; the biggest fight since the landing on Geonosis and he was shot down and stuck sneaking behind the lines. "It's just not fair..." He muttered with a slight shake of his helmeted head.

"I know brother," No-Nines said, he too was observing the battle, watching as the separatists advanced on the left flank. "The clankers never were ones for a fair fight."

"They're not, but ah...that's not it."

"It's not?" No-Nines was more than a little confused.

"No it's not, I'm stuck up here while they're down there, the biggest fight in the battalion's history and I'm stuck up here."

No-Nines didn't quite know what to say to that, their brothers were down there fighting for their lives and Oddball was pouting about not being involved. Of course they all wanted to help but because those were fellow clones, comrades, brothers who were putting their lives on the line.

He was sure that these thoughts were also on Oddball's mind, but it was...well a bit odd that they weren't first. "You're one strange clone, Oddball," he finally muttered, turning his attention back to the battle.

"Well I can't exactly dispute that. I just want to be down there, in the thick of it, you know like the General...The General!" Oddball announced excitedly locating their Jedi leader among the raging battle. Seeing the twin blue lightsabers flashing through his viewer was like a beacon in the night. Of course General Vinree would be on the front line, she'd never been one to set back safely in the rear before and he wouldn't have expected her to be now.

Just as she was about to comment on Oddball's quite obvious displeasure, Valanthe caught sight of the familiar lightsabers as well, breathing out a sigh of relief. There in the back, the third lightsaber. Renia's Padawan, the Pantoran Nimina Alchi. If the two of them were still alive that meant the defense was still holding, which gave Valanthe and her group enough time to try to make a run to them.

Only they couldn't just run through all of those droids and expect they'll all make it through. They were severely outnumbered with no cover and no support. So they needed a different tactic. They needed to divide enemy attention.

So the newly minted Jedi battle commander looked around. A few passes of her macrobinoculars almost left her discouraged. They needed to reach Vinree, yet it was certain death to just try to push through. They needed to…

There, on the edge of her pass to the right. An Anti-Aircraft Gun battery. The AA Guns they needed to take out, the guns that were keeping reinforcements from landing and exfiling the beleaguered battalion.

There were five in a row, with AA support guns peppered along the length of them. They needed to be taken out quickly and quietly. An idea sparked in her head. She had one she needed for this, now if she had another, the idea would go down twice as fast.

"Alright gents, let's put our plan of joining the General into motion." Valanthe finally spoke pointing to the right of their position. "We need to take those out of commission and repurpose them as fast and as quiet as possible."

Fives and Echo took a glance in that direction, then looked at each other, their buckets bobbing, obviously discussing something among themselves on a private channel.

"Repurpose them?" Echo questioned. "I can slice them easily."

Fives chuckled, "I know. I think I know what she wants, it's a bold idea, but it just might work. You'll have to work fast, vod."

"Would help if one of the Four-Four-Two could assist." Echo admitted, looking over at the green tinted ARCs.

Fives merely nodded, watching the small group, switching his channel back to hear the plan.

Sliding back down the embankment a bit with a sigh, Oddball cradled his blaster semi-patiently watching the other two ARCs discussing something among themselves. It had to have something to do with the Commander wanting to repurpose the guns; why else would they be sitting here chin-wagging? Whatever it was he hoped it was a good plan, and one that got them moving, after all he'd much prefer a straight fight to all this sitting around. Taking out the guns seemed a fine way to put some hurt on the clankers. He honestly wasn't too sure about repurposing them but that's why she was an officer and he wasn't.

"Commander? Repurpose how exactly?" Echo ventured since none of the others seemed eager to ask the question.

Valanthe looked over at the ever curious ARC and smiled a little, "well, we need cover and a diversion to make it through to General Vinree. Right now we have neither. If we manage to take over the AA guns and slice them we could rig them to fire on their own troops, it will divide attention from the General's position and keep it away from us, and lessened on them. Now.." she looked over at Oddball and No-Nines. "Tell me one of you is a tech, or at least tech savvy?"

Fives glanced between the Commander and the 442 ARC's, smirking beneath his bucket.

 _Bold plan, very bold. I like it._

Already seeing half the team turn their gaze toward No-Nines, Oddball couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh. Standing up he stepped forward, slapping his hand on No-Nines' shoulder pad a couple of times. "ARC trooper-5962, Oddball, tech specialist second class, at your service."

Three heads turned to him slowly, equal amount of shock emanating from them.

" _You_ are a tech." It left Fives' lips before he could help himself. He cursed inwardly as he caught himself. It wasn't right for a brother to question a brother like so, especially a fellow ARC.

Echo's shoulders shook with silent mirth, his bucket echoing him shaking his head a little.

The Mirialan blinked once, twice. A third time. "I'm sorry, Oddball," she spoke, noticing the same shock such as her own in the other two. "We're just a little surprised. Um…" she scratched the back of her neck for a moment to ebb the embarrassment away, "okay then."

Another deep breath, "awkward…" she shook her head, refocusing on the task. "Okay, Echo, you and Oddball need to slice those guns and rig them for our control, we'll have them firing at their own troops to give us time to slip away. Fives, No-Nines, you two will take out the support guns, I'll provide our cover. We're bound to get noticed by some troops at the very least."

"Sounds like a plan ma'am." No-Nines replied, trying to hold back a chuckle at the team's reaction to Oddball's revelation. He knew that his fellow clone wouldn't take it personally, he was the first to admit that he didn't come anywhere close to fitting the bill of a tech specialist. Honestly he wondered if Oddball liked letting people be uncomfortable when they found out his speciality.

"Agreed, we'll have those guns turned around in no time." Oddball added still grinning widely underneath his helmet. "And don't worry everyone, when things inevitably go wrong and whole of the separatist army is trying to take us out, I can handle them too."

"Such inspiring confidence," Vala replied dryly, a smirk in her features as she crawled in front of Fives and Echo. "Alright boys, quickly and quietly." She motioned with her arm as the four buckets gave a nod each.

As they approached the AA guns a little ways below them, Vala sprawled on her stomach with the rest of them, taking out her macrobinoculars.

"Two droids per AA Gun, two on guard," she said in a low tone, "one droid per support gun. And five more on guard. Thirty total that I can see. Focus your targets. I'll go first, draw their fire."

Putting her macrobinoculars away, she didn't wait for acknowledgement. Valanthe unsheathed her lightsaber again and called upon the Force. Within moments she shimmered out of the view of the men.

 _What in the name of the Maker, the sake of the Spirits and by the Force am I getting myself into?_ Riis wondered as she approached a group of battle droids as they chattered away waiting for their next firing solution.

"How long do you think it will be before we can demolish their defences?" One droid asked another and it almost made Valanthe pause.

"I don't know, I hope it's soon. I'm tired of standing around and watching for reinforcements. Nobody is going to come for the Republic scum." The other one said in an identical, annoyed voice.

 _Almost as if they're actual people. Spirits!_ The Mirialan had to force herself to focus as she moved under the cover of the Force to a position that would ideally let the ARC's shoot the droids from behind. Ideally.

 _Now or never._ She mentally bolstered herself and took a deep breath. With an exhale, her cloak of invisibility dropped, a grin plastered on her face.

"Hello boys!" She said, green blade igniting after nearly five years of disuse.

It felt awkward and disassociated where once it was an extension of herself. But it was better defense against the droids than her blaster would ever be. Even if her Soresu and Niman practice fell out of use.

She espied a bunch of supply crates near them, ready to use them as boulders or as a cover, depending on how fast the droids got their composure back.

"Heeey, how did you...aaagh!" The droid that had spoken first screamed as the blade seared off the lower half of his torso.

Missing a blast by a narrow margin and awkwardly deflecting another, Valanthe realized she needed to do more than rely on her out of practice technique. So she cloaked herself again, stepped between the two nearest droids and spun around, her lightsaber igniting just as it reached the first droid, slicing through both of them with ease. Another blast dodged another deflected, she tossed her lightsaber in a horizontal loop through the Force.

It sliced another droid's head clean off, before zooming back towards Valanthe. She moved just in time, catching the lightsaber and jump-twisting out of the way of another blaster. Falling to her knees and rolling away, she pulled the droid closer through the Force, right onto the tip of her lightsaber as she came back to her feet.

Meanwhile above her, Fives and No-Nines covered Echo and Oddball's descent, each focused on their own group. They were picking off the support gun droids easily, almost sniping them as the other two ARC's approached the AA Guns.

As the other ARCs methodically and precisely picked off the battle droids manning the cannons, Oddball took a different approach. When Valanthe dropped her cloak and began taking on the droids he, like the others was a bit surprised. Shaking it off rather quickly he was on his feet, yelling out a battle cry and was over the berm. Looking over his shoulder for just a moment to make sure Echo was with him, and the Oddball was off, charging down the hill towards the droids.

Waiting till they were a bit closer and with another cry he let loose; finger depressing the trigger his blaster sprang to life, the light blue blots streaking towards the distracted droids. The first support guns down in seconds, Oddball turned to the first AA battery they needed to neutralize. "COME ON OUT YOU KARKING CLANKERS, COME AND GET IT!"

Echo on the other hand was his exact opposite. Quietly and efficiently taking his targets down. Watching the Lady Jedi in action out of the corner of his visor was quite a distraction so he forced himself to focus on his task. Slicing and repurposing. As the first battery was cleared he jogged over, setting his weapon down and opening his backpack.

He took out a few gadgets and plugged into an access port.

Fives and No-Nines meanwhile picked off the support gun droids with relative ease and were now moving to cover Echo and Oddball as they worked.

He kept glancing over at the Commander every so often, to make sure she was still in the fight. Or so he told himself. Truthfully her surprising actions and even more surprising skill were rather distracting. He couldn't say though that it was combat skill, but rather thinking and improvising on her feet.

As he got up close and personal with an unharmed droid that was pushed away by an invisible force near him, he grabbed at its head and neatly twisted it off. Maybe just maybe, if it survived the scuffle they could gain intel from it.

While Echo and Fives handled the first gun No-Nines tipped his head at Oddball and they headed for the second. Bounding across the open field the two ARCs worked in concert to cover each other while pushing the now alert droids back. When they were within spitting distance of the gun, both ARCs nodded to the other and charged the position; Oddball yelling with glee at the top of his lungs and No-Nines quiet as the breeze putting his remarkable marksmanship skills to use even while on the move. Reaching the edge of the slightly sunken emplacement, No-Nines dived forward landing hard on his front and began to lay down suppressive fire on a pair of advancing Super-Battle Droids. "Anytime now Oddball!" He called over his shoulder, chucking a grenade at the duranium plated mechs.

"Have I ever let you down before!?" Oddball shouted back with a chuckle as he slid underneath the gun, attaching his own gear to its control systems. It wouldn't take long to override the gun's systems and gain control, the firewalls on the separatist heavy weapons were notoriously cheap. "Poor seppies, didn't bother to even shell out for the five credit version." He quipped, some of the command codes already flashing across his screen. It wouldn't be long till they had control of the entire battery and could turn them against the droids attacking the battalion.

Echo shook his head amusedly as he ducked a stray bolt or two from a droid that approached and passed through the wide angle barrier Valanthe was creating at the cannon approach. Fives quickly took the droid out of commission, firing occasionally, covering the right quadrant over and around the Mirialan, while No-Nines took care of the left one.

Riis noticed the pair of Super-Battle Droids advancing up towards their position. No-Nines' suppresive fire alerted her more than anything else really. Stepping a little closer, into their line of fire, she spread her arms a little, pointing her open palms to the ground and focused. Soon enough small rocks began to lift from the ground and swirl around her palms. The ground beneath the two droids began to shake and crack, causing the droids to loose their footing.

"Now, No-Nines!" She called towards the green ARC.

As the ground beneath them started to come apart and the Droids lost their footing No-Nines had his chance. Popping up to one knee, No-Nines activated the compact precision scope attached to his blaster. Even without the constant barrage of blaster fire coming at him this was still a rather difficult shot. Focusing on the droids he quickly located the bright red of their power cores, in an instant his finger squeezed the trigger twice, hitting his mark and sending the droids tumbling to the ground.

"Targets neutralized Commander."

Valanthe grinned, "good man!"

Before she could actually turn and congratulate him properly, she sensed more of the droids incoming.

"Echo, Oddball, step on it, lads!" The Mirialan urged as she jumped down the elevation, towards the next wave of droids.

Twirling through the air, she landed heavily on her feet, the rest of her body following, slamming her palms against the ground in a three-sixty angle, sending the droids around her flying as a silvery blue wave of energy slammed into them.

"Fek!" Fives cursed, jumping down from the cannon emplacement to adjust his range. Kneeling, he aimed down towards the Mirialan's location, providing cover.

 _Two to go, Commander, almost there._ Echo's voice filtered through. _Firing solutions?_

Jumping and twisting through the air again, Valanthe began to deflect bolts with a lot more ease, muscles remembering long done practices in Form III, the Soresu. "Set targets in a wide angle spread, when you're done, there's a comm-turret to our left. Rig the support to blow once the droids advance. Fives, No-Nines, find a burst point and be ready to move as soon as firing solutions are in place."

Fives didn't like this plan, it would leave the Commander too exposed and alone.

"Do it, don't worry about me!" Valanthe's urging came with grunts of exertion and sounds of laser bolts hitting the blade of her lightsaber.

Fives turned reluctantly to No-Nines and began fishing out his detonate charges. He tossed a few to the fellow ARC and the two separated, each covering a side, planting the charges.

"I'm setting the charges to go off when in droid proximity." Fives announced.

Echo nodded as he stepped over to the third AA cannon, having finished on the second last cannon while Oddball finished with the last one. He input several commands quickly, rigging the middle gun to overload once the support gun exploded.

Now that he was finished hacking the last canons systems Oddball hauled himself up and clambered into the gunner's seat. While Echo handled the job of setting the guns to overload and self destruct, Oddball got the fun job, programming in the guns to work as artillery rather than anti-aircraft and give them new firing solutions. Activating the gun's targeting computer, Oddball couldn't restrain the delighted chuckle. Like the battle droids themselves, all the heavy artillery in this sector was tied into their main battlenet, this was a significant advantage on the battlefield since it allowed a single tactical droid to get updates and take control of all the units under their command. Of course, it also meant that if someone industrious and heroic, someone like an ARC Trooper was able to access the network he could see where all the droids were and everything they did.

And right now they were clustered together, preparing for another push on the General's left flank. _Oh and look this batter is designated as support for that attack. Foolish droids, won't they be in for a surprise._ Traversing the gun to the left and increasing the elevation, Oddball was able to target the main staging area for the droid attackers. Once those coordinates were locked in it wasn't hard to set the entire battery to fire on that position, as well as fanning out and shelling the entire droid forward position. "GUNS READY ON YOUR ORDER MA'AM!" Oddball called out his thumb eagerly ghosting across the fire control.

Hearing the nearly unrestrained glee in his fellow ARC's voice, No-Nines shook his head and chuckled as he clambered up to a high ledge, hoping to get a better view of the terrain. From what he'd already been able to scout, there were several good points they could break out from, but none were perfect. And of course the one that was best for the forward team left Dizzy and the wounded stuck behind enemy lines. "Fives you better get up here." No-Nines called out, hoping his fellow clone had a better idea. He didn't at all like the idea of leaving the wounded, but if they went back there was a good chance their gap would close and they'd be cut off again. It wasn't an assured thing of course and all his instincts and training told him that you didn't leave a fellow clone behind..

Valanthe grinned as she heard Oddball bellow. Dodging a bolt and deflecting a few more she began to feign a retreat.

Fives fired several shots as he began his retreat, moving over to where No-Nines was.

"+Execute primary objective.+" An order came through their wrist comms.

"Understood ma'am." Oddball replied with a slightly ominous chuckle. "ALRIGHT CLANKERS IT'S PAYBACK TIME!" And with that Oddball depressed the trigger, the gun rocking back from the recoil of the large energy shell being sent down range. The large shock had the ARC cackling with glee as he let loose the full power of the enemy cannons right onto the droids own heads. A moment later he let loose a second barrage and then a third not letting up on the mass of droid attackers. He was determined to do as much damage as he could before the droids got too close and he would have to abandon his position.

Grinning, Valanthe kept up her withdrawal, drawing in several squadrons of droids behind her. She counted the yards off mentally in her head as she deflected bolts with more and more ease.

Lifting her left wrist, she spoke again, "Execute secondary objective in three minutes."

It was roughly the time that it would take the droids to reach the AA battery. She hoped that the ARC's had found a breach point by then and moved so that she could cloak herself and join them.

Fives consulted the range finder on his helmet, doing a few mental calculations.

"The explosion should be enough to clear us a path in that direction," he pointed to the right and ahead. "It'll be narrow so we need a single file staggered approach. Stick to cover, watch your angles but don't fire unless we have attention. This should be distraction enough."

He knew he was taking a bold, probably career breaking step by taking over in presence of two senior ARCs but he was confident in his plan. Fives only hoped that the other two wouldn't shoot it down, not because his junior status but because they simply didn't have time to argue about it.

"+Four hundred…+" Vala's voice counted off the distance.

"+GUN'S RUNNING A LITTLE HOT!+" Oddball called off over the sound of the cannon firing.

"Good plan." No-Nines said with a nod to the junior ARC. In the regular Clone corps it might be in bad form and even a punishable offense to step in like Fives did but for ARCs flexibility ruled the day. The ability to quickly adapt to a situation and recognize an advantage were far more important that strict protocol. "Fives you and Echo take point leading us out, we'll get the commander in the middle while Oddball and I bring up the rear."

Fives nodded, secretly relieved he was off the hook. Well for that very second. Now he had to make sure the plan worked. He nodded to Echo who jogged over and joined them, weapon at the ready again.

"+One hundred. Execute secondary objective.+" Vala sounded off momentarily before her communication cut off.

Echo tapped a command on his wrist interface which initiated the overload sequence. He nearly jumped out of his skin however when Valanthe appeared behind him to the right, sweaty and dishevelled.

"Grab a cover lads, this'll be a big one." She said, motioning for them to move.

Fives and Echo broke into a dash towards the rock formation furthest from the blast zone while Vala motioned for No-Nines and Oddball to follow them. She jumped into the cover last but in a somewhat unorthodox manner.

She spread her arms over Fives and Oddball's shoulders and just managing to touch Echo and No-Nines'.

"Blow the charges!"

As Fives pressed the ignition button, Valanthe focused her strength through the Force, extending a protective barrier over them, her already sweaty form now exerting even more, trying to protect everyone from debris.

The explosion was as loud as it was felt, the ground beneath them rocking. Vala's ears hurt something shocking as she struggled to maintain the protective barrier around them, to shield them from rock and metal debris that peppered them.

Feeling the small bits of debris bounce off his helmet, Oddball peeked up over the brim of their cover seeing the destroyed remains of the separatist gun and the droids sent to secure them. Now all they had to do was make it across to friendly lines. "Nice plan Commander." He said with a chuckle making sure the woman was still with them.

The green woman glanced at him sideways, grinning, "thank you, Oddball."

The barrage of artillery on the droids position had not gone unnoticed by the embattle troops holding their positions only a few hundred meters away. At first hearing the sounds of artillery firing they thought it was coming for them but when no rounds fell the clone lines took on an eerie silence. At first no one looked up expecting that it was some kind of separatist trick. But when no successive bombardment came, some of the more curious clones stuck their heads above ground.

Ren joined them, her eyes wide in shock at what she saw, the droids were actually firing on their own troops. And it certainly wasn't by accident either, not a single shell even came close to hitting her lines. Honestly she couldn't believe it, droids were precise, yes they were often stupid but they didn't make mistakes like that. Now if only they could capitalize on this, but there weren't enough troops left to stage an attack and still defend their landing zone and wounded. Ren was just about to order a shift in the line when in the distance a massive explosion lit up the night sky, the shockwave hitting the clones dead on as if it had gone up right in front of them.

"General! Comms are back online!" Charger shouted running up from the command post, portable comms unit in hand. "Reinforcements have landed! We're catching signals of General Kenobi and Skywalker, they're only a few kilometers to our south!"

As a resounding victorious cry came up from the clones within earshot, Ren slid back down into her fighting hole, a deep sense of relief filling her. Yes she knew they weren't out of the woods yet, but at least they knew that they hadn't been forgotten.

"Charger can you get me in direct contact with them?" Ren asked, unable to wipe the wide smile from her lips.

"Not yet ma'am, we're still trying to get our portable comms fully operational. We can receive but not send. R3 is working on it, should only take another few minutes now that we're receiving signal."

"Good, alright head back to the CP and give him a hand and assign someone to keep monitoring that frequency." Ren replied, giving Charger an encouraging slap on his arm.

CT-3336, aka Corporal Buzz called from his elevated position where he was on sniper duty, "General, permission to speak?"

Looking around to see how had called out to her it took a moment for Ren to locate the well concealed sniper. "Buzz, I think considering our current predicament, we're all beyond needing to ask for permission, but you have it anyway."

He chuckled softly, "sorry, sir. Habit. We have a slight problem. Charger reported Kenobi and Skywalker forces a few clicks to the south. The explosion came from the AA guns which are to our northeast. Just under a click. I think we have a third party out there." His eyes never left the targeting scopes, searching, trying to see.

Looking over in the direction Buzz indicated, Ren could still see the smoking remnants and brief secondary explosions from the former gun position. The trooper was right, there was no way that Kenobi nor Skywalker could have gotten their full forces that close to their lines without someone noticing. "Well this planet's uninhabited, perhaps some of our own people? More than a few gunships were shot down during the retreat."

Deciding to get a better view, Ren summoned the Force and propelled herself through the air, bouncing off a few rocks in the cliff face near her position until she could reach Buzz. "Do you see anything out there?"

"Negative, the blast did create a few new crevices from what I can tell….." he trailed off, angling his sniper to the left, far left facing the cliffside. "Stand by."

There was a tell tale whirr of his zoom as he adjusted it, trying to get a better view. "I see clone helmets, but it's too dark to make out the insignia's. Four by the looks of...what the fek? They just disappeared."

"Disappeared? What do you mean?" Ren asked an eyebrow raised in confusion as she pulled out her own set of macrobinoculars, sweeping the area that Buzz had been focusing on. "Clones don't just disappear into thin…" The words died on her lips as Ren passed over a patch of grass in the distance. She could swear she saw something...shimmering, just at the edge of her vision. She couldn't quite make it out but there was just something familiar about it, something that sent a tingle up her spine.

Laying her binoculars down on the rockface Ren repositioned herself, crossing her legs and laying her hands gently on her knees. Taking a few deep breaths, Ren closed her eyes and centered herself, reaching out with the Force, opening her senses to the living world around her. At first it was a rush of sensation, the most overpowering coming from her men many wounded and scared. Despite feeling the pang of guilt in her chest, she pushed past those feelings, banishing them to the grey areas just outside of her conscious perception. As she did so there was almost a light...a presence shining off in the distant black, it was familiar and different all at the same time.

Buzz hazarded a glance at his General doing her weird Jedi thing again. He couldn't deny one thing though. The Jedi found out a lot of things sitting with their eyes closed like that. How? That was well and truly beyond him. Clones weren't di'kuts, but he usually felt like one when sitting around with eyes closed got results and staring through a sniper scope yielded none.

But he knew better than to comment so he refocused. That was when he saw the four clones again. Frowning under his bucket, he had to sound off.

"Contact. I see four ARC type clones on staggered, single file approach, but there seems to be a hole in the line. We only have two ARC's in the four-four-two." He said, then his eyes widened under the very same bucket.

"General there seems to be a Jedi with them. I can make out a green blade, and rather unusual Jedi clothes, but I can't tell much more, should I switch to night vision? They are advancing on our position."

Smiling as she heard Buzz confirm what she was seeing in her mind, that light in the distance quickly becoming a recognizable figure. _Valanthe, I should have known it was you._ Ren thought as she slowly pulled herself out of her Force vision, the real world slowly coming back into focus around her. Taking a couple more deep breaths, Ren let her eyes flutter open staring at where the small group of clones pushed through the tall grass to reach the edge of their lines. "Yes please do, I believe you'll recognize two of our own along with that rather unconventional Jedi." Ren said her tone soft, happy her smile even wider than it was before.

 _Oh great, now she's gone all soppy._ Buzz muttered inwardly as he turned on the night vision. "Oddball and No-Nines, I don't recognize the other two. Should I alert the others? They're almost at our lines, sir."

"Yes let them know to let the whole group through their friendlies, and good work Buzz." Ren said giving the clone a pat on the shoulder before picking up her binoculars and jumping down from the sniper perch, and heading for the front of their lines.

Down below, approaching the barricaded position, Valanthe felt at ease somewhat. She'd felt Renia reaching out to her through the Force, trying to for all intents and purposes identify her. It had caused her to drop her cloak, distractions often did that. But there was a residual trail of warmth as she felt Renia draw away, diminish into her signature Force presence. Well, a rather changed Force signature.

Not that the Mirialan could dwell on it too much, they were nearly there and she had to keep her focus. She deflected the stray blaster bolts easily.

"Go in, they're expecting us!" She slapped at Oddball's pauldron as he passed her.

As the four ARCs reached Renia's forces, Valanthe extended her hands, lightsaber held with her middle finger and thumb. She focused what strength she had left onto a nearby slab of rock. Were she more rested she would have dislodged and lifted it easily. It took her a good few moments and a few pleadings of, "come on, Commander!" before she she lifted it and hurled at the droids nearby.

As a commotion ensued yet again, Valanthe turned her lightsaber off and made a run for the defense line, trickles of sweat descending down her back as she did so. For all the form she was in, it had been years since such a rigorous, strenuous workout and she was feeling every bit of it. She thanked the Force though for her muscle memory of the all defense form, Soresu.

* * *

 ** _To Be Continued In Bloody Fields, Bloody Fields, part 2._**


	11. Chapter 11 - Bloody Fields, part 2

_Previously:_

 _As the four ARCs reached Renia's forces, Valanthe extended her hands, lightsaber held with her middle finger and thumb. She focused what strength she had left onto a nearby slab of rock. Were she more rested she would have dislodged and lifted it easily. It took her a good few moments and a few pleadings of, "come on, Commander!" before she she lifted it and hurled at the droids nearby._

 _As a commotion ensued yet again, Valanthe turned her lightsaber off and made a run for the defense line, trickles of sweat descending down her back as she did so. For all the form she was in, it had been years since such a rigorous, strenuous workout and she was feeling every bit of it. She thanked the Force though for her muscle memory of the all defense form, Soresu._

* * *

 **And now, the continuation:**

"You always did know how to make an entrance," Ren said as she jogged up to the line, chuckling as she saw Vala for the first time in years. She'd often wondered what she'd say after all this time and had come up with more than a few disarming quips and more than a few heartfelt admissions. But when she actually laid eyes on her green skinned friend, they all flew right out the airlock.

"I know, I'm awesome." Valanthe grinned, seeing Renia light up. She walked briskly over to the Onderonia woman, lightly embracing her. "I'm glad you're okay, Ren."

She hadn't been entirely sure herself at how she'd react. It had indeed been years since she and Renia last exchanged messages, their frequency having fallen over the years prior. Valanthe had had her job and Renia had her commitments to the Jedi order. Now though, here amidst the war, all the regrets seemed to evaporate. The Mirialan was just happy she made it to her friend in time.

Never one for long emotional scenes, Valanthe pulled back clearing her throat. "Found some of your boys along the way. Got Dizzy and several others holed up about a click and a half north east with the wounded. They'll need extraction as well."

Fives and Echo ambled over to them at that point, "ARC Troopers Echo and Fives' sir. We were sent with the Commander to help reinforce your lines until the 212th and the 501st can reach us an exfil." Fives said as he and Echo stood at attention.

"Good to meet you troopers, thank you for finding some of our wayward men." Ren said with a nod, still a bit overwhelmed at the reunion. She'd figured it would be an emotional moment but even the light hug had nearly floored her. Vala alive and unharmed and glad to see her was a real gift in these dark times. Honestly she was a bit reluctant to let her friend go, as if the Force itself would take her away again if she did. "And thank you, all of you for coming to get us."

Valanthe, unable to come up with a proper response, feeling uncharacteristically hitched up, simply nodded. She forced herself back into business mode. There would be time for celebration and talking later. They were still in dire straits.

"What's your count?" She asked quietly as she stepped over to Renia again, wondering about how many men she had left, how many she'd lost.

Riis tried very hard not to dwell on the unknown fate of her own men, somewhere on Coruscant and Felucia doing spirits knew what, without her to protect them. The other part dreaded to learn the number of wasted life on these fields.

Fives' bucket moved imperceptibly in Valanthe's direction. He could feel her trying to restrain an undercurrent of emotion, but he could not tell what emotion exactly. It wasn't a good or a bad one, more just sad, worried. It didn't however occur to him to wonder at himself, to wonder how he was so certain of the green woman's feelings.

"It's not good, we landed with thirteen hundred men and are down to a little over seven hundred and fifty who can still fight and another two hundred wounded. Force knows how many are trapped out there like No-Nines and Oddball." Ren said feeling the weight of all those clones lost. Sure their unit had taken casualties before, this was a war after all, but never had they been hit on this scale.

"I feel like I failed them Vala, how could I have let things go so badly?" She asked quietly not wanting her troopers to hear her doubts.

Valanthe placed a gloved hand on Renia's shoulder sighing. "I don't know what happened, but I'm pretty sure that against the numbers you were facing… It was two to one when the three of us arrived, Spirits only know what the odds were before. There was nothing you could have done, Ren. What _was_ your mission? Obi-Wan never said…"

 _He was too busy trying to justify my joining to himself._

Ren wanted to believe Vala and maybe she even did a bit, but that didn't change that she felt like she failed to protect her men. "We were supposed to secure the planet for use as a Republic Forward Operating Base, to split the separatist supply lines while they were on the offensive elsewhere. The idea was that with their forces engaged in several attacks we could slip in and secure the planet long enough for a larger Republic force to arrive. Instead we were here for maybe five days at the most before a whole Separatist fleet showed up, destroyed our cruisers and landed ground troops, we never knew what hit us."

Valanthe nodded, "alright. Well we need to hole up and stand our ground until Obi-Wan and Anakin get here. Echo, Fives and I are under your command, General. Where do you want us?"

Riis looked around the assembled troops. She could feel their joy, their renewed hope. She could also feel how bone tired they all were. The former Jedi knew more would die still before this mission was over. Valanthe just hoped it wasn't too many. They deserved to get off this awful planet in as great numbers as possible.

Ren had to think for a moment, their defensive position was very precarious but with the destruction Vala and the ARCs caused, not to mention the distraction from the reinforcements they seemed to have gotten some breathing room. "Hmm, well No-Nines and Oddball should already be taking over defensive sectors from Lock and Frost… perhaps Echo and Fives can assist them in shoring up our defenses and you can help relieve Mina so she can focus more on our wounded."

Part of her wanted to keep Vala close by so she didn't have to worry about losing her friend and so they could catch up a bit. But she couldn't do that, not now...right now she still had to be the General.

Valanthe could feel her two ARC's looking to her for confirmation. Turning to them, she put on a confident face. "Alright lads. You can do this, I'll make sure your trainers on Kamino get a personal recommendation from myself and the General regarding your actions on this mission." She flashed them an encouraging smile.

Inside however she felt a sliver of dread. She'd never been in a battle like this, she'd been entrusted with the two ARCs. If she lost them, she wasn't sure how she'd face Anakin and Rex.

"Stay safe, Commander." Fives said, unable to lock down his inexplicable worry for the green woman.

Valanthe nodded, "I expect to see you both on the other side, alive and well. Force be with you, lads."

That said, Echo and Fives snapped to attention before turning and jogging off to join their two new friends. Riis sighed to herself before she headed off to find the young Pantoran.

"Vala wait!" Ren called jogging after her friend for a moment. "Are you ok? You seem a little...out of sorts doesn't quite seem the right description." They may not have seen eachother for a better part of a decade, but she still had a pretty good read on the Mirialan woman. Not to mention she'd always been a bit more empathic than many of her fellow knights.

The Mirialan turned to face the Onderonian. Should she lie and keep up a brave face so that the men saw the two as a confident, optimistic unit? Problem was, she never really could lie to Renia.

Sighing softly, she stepped closer to Renia, "I'm about to help you run a defensive campaign and I've not a day of battlefield experience." Her words were soft, quiet. "I'm a little scared, I guess. I don't want to fail them, or Fives and Echo. Especially them...since Anakin and Obi-Wan entrusted them to my command." Valanthe said, looking about them. "I have to find my own courage and confidence, for them. For you, for Nemina."

"Vala…" Ren said with a soft smile, reaching out to give her a few comforting, if discrete strokes on the arm. "That's perfectly alright. You think I wasn't all kinds of nervous at Geonosis? I'll tell you I was scared out of my mind, and truly that's ok. That fear is going to keep you thinking, keep you focused on finding the best course of action. You just need to remember to act, the one thing that will get us in trouble out there is self-doubt and inaction. Considering that you made it all the way here, through an army with only a few men tells me you've got what it takes, you've got that courage."

"It's one thing cloaking a small group through enemy lines. This is actual battlefield leadership…" Riis sighed, then drew herself up. "I have to do it, so I will do it. Drinks are on me when we reach the Resolute." With a practiced smile, Valanthe nodded to her friend, and headed towards the blue skinned woman somewhere down the line.

In truth she was deflecting and getting out of Renia's empathic zone. Telling her it was alright didn't really help. Valanthe knew where her faults and lack of knowledge lay and she was wary of them. But she also knew how to _change the circumstances_ as her mentor and now boss, Xander Night used to say. So that's what she'd do.

Besides, if she stayed with Ren any longer she just may have fallen apart then and there.

Ren wasn't entirely sold with Vala's reassurance but despite the less than enthusiastic response, she still believed that her friend could do this. Valanthe had always been one of the smartest women she'd ever met and if there was one thing a battlefield commander needed above all else was a sharp mind and quick wits. Yes there would be stumbles, but Mina would look after Vala not to mention she had a feeling one of the 501st ARCs would be standing close at hand. Seeing that preparations had begun, Ren took the opportunity to rush back to the CP and check in with R3 and Charger, see what gains they had made.

Green stepped over to blue. Valanthe smiled at the stoic young Padawan. On the inside she could feel the young woman radiating such a powerful mix of goodness and light, almost rivalling Renia's back in the day.

"Padawan Alachi?" Valanthe opened with a respectful bow.

"Yes, that's me?" Nemina Alachi said, turning as she heard someone call her name, her normally chipper and strong Pantoran accent sounding tired. Returning the bow more on instinct than anything else, her eyes fell upon a woman and it certainly wasn't her master. Must be the Mirialan that came in with the Clones, a Jedi...if a strange one. "I suppose you're with our reinforcements then?" She asked trying not to sound too hopeful.

"My name is Valanthe Riis and yes. We're with the reinforcements. Master Vinree sent me to relieve you on the line so you can focus on your healing skills." Valanthe said with as much warmth as she could muster.

"Thank Force," Nemina said, relief flowing from her, the tension in her shoulders slowly ebbing away. The young Padawan had been doing her best to keep up with everything but it was good to know that not only were there reinforcements here to help, but she knew this woman before her was a fellow force user. "Our field surgeon and medics are pretty overwhelmed it would be good to help them a bit. Even if I have to come back to the line when the droids attack again."

Valanthe smiled, "on you go then. I'll take over here."

She desperately didn't want to but she knew she had to. So she took a deep breath and stepped over to the downed transport, to one of the troopers inspecting the field in front of them with his macrobinoculars.

"What's your name, trooper?" She asked kindly.

"CT-7781, sir." He replied immediately, without breaking sight.

 _Clones._ Valanthe thought amusedly, "and your name?"

Then it hit him what she was really asking. "Callan, sir."

Valanthe chuckled as she felt him brighten up, "well, Callan. What's the situation?" She asked motioning towards enemy troops.

Callan sighed a little, "they are regrouping, sir. From what we can tell they're down to forty percent of their force prior to the AA cannons going off."

Valanthe nodded. "Alright. I'm going to try to thin their ranks a bit. I'll need you gentlemen to cover me. Think you could do that?"

"Sir, we should really be the ones doing that." Callan interjected.

Riis shook her head, "just cover me. I'll be fine."

The clone sighed, nodding. "Yes, sir. Alright you di'kuts! Cover detail on the Jedi!" He bellowed.

"Yes,sir!" A chorus of replies fired up from the assembled Clones, several running up to give the new Jedi close cover while others set up firing lines from their bunkered positions. Ready to lay down a devastating amount of fire in support the clones were anxious to get things going. "Ready to go whenever you are Commander."

Valanthe nodded, "alright. You'll know when to help me." She took a deep breath and ignited her lightsaber.

She stepped out from the cover position in as challenging a manner as possible.

The droid troops could be seen re-forming into squads. With so few of them left, there seemed to be confusion among their ranks, having lost their tactical droid leaders.

 _Excellent,_ Valanthe thought as she watched them start moving towards her position. If she could keep them focused on her, while the clones picked them off from behind and with Renia's help, they just may be able to hold out until Obi-Wan and Anakin came.

 _+Fives, this is Echo.+_ Echo sounded off on his private channel.

+ _I'm a little busy, vod!+_ Fives knew that it wasn't good just by the fact that Echo was the one to open their private channel.

Fives did his best to keep his focus on assisting No-Nines as he waited for Echo to say what he wanted to say.

+ _The Commander is out there, in front of the barricade, uncovered, just standing and waiting for the droids to attack.+_ Said Echo with clear worry in his tone.

+ _I think we know by now the Commander always has a plan.+_ Fives countered. _I hope. +Keep an eye on her, just in case. I'll join you when I can.+_

He didn't want to even consider alternatives. Skywalker had made him a direct, unmistakable order, to keep the Commander safe. Then Rex gave them the same one, with a lot more colorful language.

+ _Understood, Echo out._ \+ Fives sighed under his helmet. _Crazy jetti'ka._

Crazy jetti'ka, just about every clone in this section were thinking the same thing. The new Jedi running beyond the barricades to face the oncoming, if diminished droid forces on her own… risky didn't seem to quite cover it. Not that the clones of the 442nd weren't used to it by now, the General led from the front every time they'd been deployed. Seemed it was a common trait among the Jedi, at least among the crazy female ones anyway.

Up at the command post Ren had been keeping an eye on what was happening out at the barricades, Vala leaving the protective perimeter without even so much as an escort was not what she wanted or expecting to see. Cursing under her breath as her scouts called in another push, Ren rushed out of the command post and toward her lines. Grabbing several clones along the way she was intent on supporting Vala in this foolhardy venture. Seeing the droids getting closer Ren started channeling the Force, she was going to jump to Vala's position if it took what reserves of energy had left. She'd just gotten Vala back and Ren wasn't going to lose her now.

As the droids grew closer, Valanthe pulled on the Force around her, waiting for the droids to come closer before she acted. She had to keep her wits and focus about her and to trust Ren's boys to do their job. To cover her.

The Mirialan was the most rested out of the three Force users and least known to the droids so she had two elements working in her favor. Another element had been the fact that they no longer had the tactical droid leading them, which meant battle droids were in charge and those notoriously lacked intelligence subroutines.

She could feel the troops behind her tense up, but thankfully none acted. Once the droids were close enough and their focus was mostly on the reckless Jedi, Valanthe took one step forward, and disappeared. This caused the first line of the battledroids to stop short and look around, confused as to where she'd disappeared to.

Suddenly, they found themselves flying every-which way, knocking into the row behind them, a green blade reigniting again and hacking away at them. Valanthe's bladework and avoidance skills were being put to a heavy test.

For every two droids she hacked down, she had to dodge twice as many blasts. Droids in the lines behind the ones focused on her did slowly drop, however, picked off by the white-armoured clones.

"That is damned impressive." Fives couldn't help a comment as he and Oddball joined No-Nines and Echo at one of the cover spots, firing immediately as they settled in.

"Mhm…" Echo set off a few shots, "reckless but damn impressive."

"Heh yeah I like her." Oddball said with a chuckle as he continued to pick off droids. "But if you boys want to talk about damn impressive...well." He added with a tip of his helmet focusing their attention on a figure sailing through the air over the front lines of troops. If there was one thing Oddball and No-Nines had learned in their time was the General didn't mind getting into the thick of things; and when she did impressive certainly seemed an apt description.

Igniting her light-blue sabers as she came out of the apex of her force enhanced jump, Ren landed within just a few of where Vala had been standing. Before the simpler battle droids could get a handle on the rapidly changing situation, Ren was already cutting a swath through their lines. Keeping on the move Ren was able to keep some of the heat of Vala, drawing the droid's focus in yet another direction as their limited tactical processing power finally determined that she was the bigger threat.

And so the blade dance began. Twin blues intermixing with a solitary green. Where Valanthe ducked in, out and around, Renia plowed through, taking everyone in her way out of the way.

Valanthe, being least accustomed to battlefield conditions played to her strengths. Hit, cloak herself with the Force, shift positions to flank the unsuspecting droid, then hit again. Then she'd repeat the process, dancing around the back of the droids.

One of the two surviving tanks entered firing range. Valanthe jumped out of the way of the mortar round just in time, twisting through the air. As she landed, rolling on the ground, she quickly cloaked and made a run for the tank.

As she ran, she jumped onto its hull, all the way to the top hatch. Igniting her lightsaber dropped the cloak. It sliced through the top hatch with ease and pulled it away with the Force. She jumped inside quickly and started slicing at anything and everything around her, hoping to disable the tank itself and the droids in control of it.

Fives gulped as she jumped down, unconsciously holding his breath as they continued to pick the droids off. He only released it once the tank practically slumped down and pieces of metal started shooting out of the mangled top hatch.

iGood girl./i He thought with subconscious relief.

Seeing the second tank closing in on its partner Ren swore under her breath. While most Jedi could take on a single tank, most were not up to handling two and she couldn't even be sure Vala was aware of the second armored beast bearing down on her position. Letting one more exasperated exclamation slip past her lips Ren charged forward trying to intercept the tank before it could get its range on Vala.

Pushing a small group of droids out of her way and dodging the blast of the tank's main gun Ren was finally in a position to strike. Coming out of a roll she slashed through the front wing of the AAT, destroying its forward repulsor disk, sending the front of the tank plowing into the dirt. As the droids inside panicked, increasing the forward thrust of the tank driving it even deeper into the loose earth, Ren quickly bounded up and over the turret in perfect position to strike at its vulnerable backside. Damaging the tank's two over-worked power converters, Ren grinned as she heard the danger alarms in the main compartment begin to blare out of control. Jumping back over the tank the Jedi ran back toward the line no longer concerned about the tank, in seconds the once formidable beast would be little more than a smoking pile of scrap.

Not soon after a green streak bounded out of the other tank, green blade swinging as it deflected stray bolts. Valanthe landed near Renia, and slowly walked backwards, deflecting, into a line with Renia.

"Alright, now if we can hold the line till they get here, we just may be able to hold out." Valanthe managed through grunts and groans as she started to feel the strain of the battle in her muscles and bones. It had been years since she pushed herself this much.

"I think you're right," Ren said deflecting a flurry of bolts back towards their owners. "Let's get back to the line, we've already pushed out luck more than I would have liked." The clones were already doing an excellent job holding off the remaining droid forces, with the support the two Jedi had given them it shouldn't be too much trouble holding out until Obi-Wan and the others reached them. Provided the separatists didn't have any reserves close at hand. Ren wasn't sure how many more of those she had in her.

"Agreed," Valanthe nodded as the two started pulling back towards the entrenchment.

As they stepped behind the barricade, she was approached by a rather irate Echo and rather amused Fives.

"Commander!" Echo called, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Echo. Focus on the droids, you can berate me later. Both you and the General," Valanthe countered as she kept deflecting bolts.

"Savor that moment, vod. Savor it!" Fives threw in through a chuckle as he kept firing.

iClones,/i Valanthe thought to herself amusedly.

So it went on for a good half an hour or so. Tired soldiers and tired Jedi, holding down their last bastion in hopes for a rescue. Men kept falling, the Jedi's scrape, cut and burn level kept rising. Valanthe knew both she and Renia were pulling on their last ounces of strength to keep the fight going.

It was towards the quarter of an hour that they heard a familiar sound. LAAT/i's and Republic lasers. A sound Valanthe thought sounded very beautiful at that moment. So very beautiful.

As the squadron of LAAT/i's swooped low over the battlefield a rousing cry erupted up from beleaguered troops. To them and to Renia there was no more beautiful sight than the heavily armed transports and their reinforcements coming down from the skies. But truly it was the Y-Wings flying in the vanguard that gave the General true relief. As they came into range over the attacking droids the Y-wings split into two groups bombing the droid positions encircling the clones. Several gunships following the bombers, cleaning up any droids that were missed.

Despite wanting to simply slump down now that the reinforcements had arrived, Ren's job wasn't nearly over. Taking a deep breath and gathering a bit of strength she jogged up to the command post to see if she could get a better idea of their new situation.

Valanthe withdrew into line next to Fives and Echo, a smirk on her face as she caught two familiar signatures on the edge of her senses. Soon enough, they could see a dark and a light figure jump out of the LAAT/i's, two blue lightsabers lighting up.

"Well boys, we did it." Valanthe commented, then spoke loudly, "alright check your angles, let's be careful not to hit our own troops! Pick off the stragglers for 'em. Fire at will!"

As the clones hooted their approval, joining in the final roundup and destruction of the remaining droid forces, Valanthe jogged up after Renia, joining her in the command post.

She was reigning in her relief and enthusiasm as well, as there were still troops out there that needed to be handled, but now, now they were in the majority and heavily fortified with fresh troops and two more Jedi.

"What's our status?" The Mirialan asked as she stepped over to Master Vinree.

"Ambiguous to say the least, help certainly couldn't have come at a better time."Ren said hunched over the holographic plotting table. With the comms jammer down, they'd been able to get a real reading on their tactical situation. "We're clear for now, but there are more droids on this planet and they're only a few hours away...and we're in no state to continue holding this place. Something tells me they're not either." She added, inclining her head in the direction of the Jedi now walking toward them, recognizing Obi-Wan's signature immediately.

"Excellent timing old friend." Ren said as the trio entered their command post, despite only being on the planet for a few short hours it was clear they hadn't had an easy time of it either.

"We aim to please Master Vinree, and I'm glad to see everyone is still in one piece." Obi-Wan replied with a grin. Although he was very glad to see that Valanthe was unharmed, it was far more rewarding to know that two people as close as these two had a chance to reconnect, despite the circumstances.

Valanthe grinned at the sandy haired man. "We had a blast...literally. Though I think Oddball enjoyed it the most." Then something clicked in her head, "Obi-Wan, we have injured clones waiting pickup back the way Fives, Echo and I came in on. We can't leave them hanging…"

She took hold of his forearm and tapped in a set of coordinates. "Can you send a transport for them, please?"

"Already on their way, along with a flight of gunships that will take your wounded to one of our Medical Cruisers." With the large amounts of casualties Renia's forces had taken it was a good thing they'd modified one of the new Arquintens light cruisers to serve in a medical support role. Frankly he'd hoped that it would all be for nothing, Obi-Wan really hated being right.

Valanthe nodded, "excellent. I need to thank Dizzy and your ARC's once we get back to the _Resolute._ " She said to Renia before looking over at Obi-Wan again. "When can we start evacuating?"

"The evacuation gunships should be landing anytime, Anakin's troops will start taking over positions on the line as yours evacuate." Obi-Wan said as his former Padawan stepped up to the planning table. "We've already landed a third of our battalion, Rex is coordinating with your Commander as we speak."

Valanthe nodded, "we'll start wrapping the command post then and meet you at the LAAT/i's."

Anakin nodded, seemingly waiting for something. Valanthe had an idea what that might have been.

"Your ARC's performed admirably, Anakin. They will be excellent officers. I'll miss working with them." She said to the young Knight.

Anakin grinned, "oh I'm sure this isn't the last you'll see of the 501st. But they'll be happy to hear it."

"I'll send a recommendation to Commander Blitz and the ARC training Commander once we're back on the ship." Valanthe added as the two nodded to each other.

Once Obi-Wan and Anakin left, Valanthe stepped over to Renia, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezing it. She let out a deep breath of relief, closing her eyes.

"We're going to be okay…" Riis said softly.

Smiling as she felt the comforting squeeze on her shoulder, Ren's own hand moving to cover the other woman's hand giving it a little squeeze of her own. "Yeah I think you might just be right." Ren quipped, a grin spreading across her face. They were alive, her troops were being evacuated and she'd been reunited with her best friend...yeah definitely seemed like things were going to be ok.

Valanthe smiled back, nodding. "Alright, let's start getting this post sorted while the boys sort the rest."

That said, she set about dismantling the portable holo table they'd set up. It was a rather familiar motion, having dismantled staging areas before in her work with the Republic Ministry of Intelligence. She used this time to decompress and bleed away the tension that had coiled up inside her during this operation. It registered vaguely in her mind that Renia was just as quiet, probably going through a similar inner process while her hands worked on their own.

It took the two women another half an hour to pack everything up and send it down to the gunships that had landed. As the area around them was now empty of technology and people, Valanthe took a look around, looking across the plain, over to the other side to where she, Echo and Fives had come from. The burning AA Cannons, the ravaged plain, the bloody fields littered with remains of meat and metal. Had it been worth it? Had all that death and destruction amounted to anything?

She was broken out of her thoughts when Commander Frost announced that everything was ready for evacuation. Valanthe decided to give Renia and Frost a moment and descended down first, heading over to where Fives and Echo were talking with Captain Rex, No-Nines and Oddball, with a very amused Obi-Wan and Anakin sharing looks every so often as they watched the lines.

Renia didn't quite hear everything Frost had said to her, really only picking up the important bits about the wounded being fully loaded, the rest of the stragglers had been located and that they were ready to go. She was too lost in the feeling of the battlefield around them, it echoed with all the pain that had been brought here. She'd opened her senses up to it for only a moment...but it had been more than overwhelming. Even when Valanthe had stood beside her and they both looked out across the scorched ground before them she'd only been focused on it.

Shaking her head a couple of times, Ren tried to pull herself together enough as she too turned toward the waiting gunships. Honestly she didn't feel like answering any questions about how she was feeling right now. Seeing the end result of their weeklong wasted battle...she would need time to come to peace with that. The little bit of good that had come out of this was something for her to hold onto, the rest she could worry about later. This was a war after all and if any of them had any hope of truly surviving then hanging onto the little things was so very important.

Valanthe had only marginally listened to the banter around her, feeling the weight of the event starting to eat away at her calm and control. It was the cheer and optimism of the surviving clones that kept her from caving in under the onslaught. Anakin and Rex entered the nearest LAAT/i and motioned for them to enter as well.

Echo entered first, while Fives remained in his spot for a moment, observing the ruminating woman, a far away look in her eyes. He found himself strangely bothered by the very likely fact that this may be the last time he'd get to work with the unusual Commander.

He wanted a few more minutes, for some reason. "The sooner we get on the LAAT/i, the sooner we can grab that drink at the Mess with Echo, Commander." Fives said extending his hand to her as he climbed the transport which rose to a low hover position.

Valanthe blinked herself out of her reverie and looked up at the ARC with the Rishi eel on his helmet. Smiling a little she grabbed his forearm and let him pull her up.

"Well then I'll meet you two in the Mess once the debriefing is over, since I don't know how long I'm staying afterward." She said to the two ARCs.

Behind Echo, she could feel both Anakin and Rex being very amused.

As the others jumped into their LAAT/i's, Renia headed for the last one in line. It wasn't that she didn't want to be around friends and comrades right now, but Ren needed to be the last one off this field. Some of her men wouldn't be leaving this planet, the least she could do was be the last one to step off of it.

"I hope you weren't planning on leaving on your own." Obi-Wan said, surprising the younger Jedi as she stepped aboard the mostly empty LAAT/i. Renia had been so distracted she didn't even notice his presence aboard. Obi-Wan had noticed her's however, he'd noticed how conflicted Renia's feelings had become since they started evacuating.

"Not necessarily planning just, contemplating my fortuitous luck." Ren quipped with a slight, but obviously forced grin. Honestly she didn't know if being alone had been a conscious decision or not. She would have just rather had a quiet ride back to the Resolute, a chance to get herself centered before being around everyone again. But if someone had to be along and it wasn't going to be Vala, she was happy it was Obi-Wan. The man had a way of knowing what someone needed, sometimes even before they themselves knew.

"Well, I could step outside while we're on our way up but the air is somewhat thin out there, and it's also a bit nippy...I forgot to bring a winter coat you see." Obi-Wan said rubbing his hands over his arms for a second. Of course he would joke and of course he would be able to draw a chuckle out of her, a grin that just wouldn't go away; even if it was the last thing she wanted.

Seeing that his work was done, at least for now Obi-Wan hit the door controls on the LAAT/i and in moments they were lifting off from the surface of the planet. As silence fell over the cargo compartment of their Gunship, Obi-Wan imagined a similar state for all those leaving Sermeria. What Renia and her men went through wasn't easy but perhaps this moment of reflection, remembrance would do them good. This wouldn't be the last tough mission for any of them in this war; learning how to cope, to live with themselves may be the hardest and most important task of all.


	12. Chapter 12: Sweet Moments

**A/N:** Another chunk of goodness brought to you by **Shaliira** and **Kaichi** , with the ever valuable input from our faitful betas **NixNox** and **Sketch**.

Lots of clone and Jedi goodness and intrigue in this one, folks. Enjoy ;)

* * *

The briefing took long, all too long hours, recounting every minute detail of the Sermeria Campaign. From the very start, Renia recounted her part in it, her men's. Obi-Wan and Anakin spoke next, recounting an unknown portion of the mission to both the women. The Separatist force on Sermeria had been greater, much greater than anticipated. As Valanthe added her own account of the events, when everything was pieced together two things became very clear.

The Separatists were a lot smarter and a lot more prepared than they had previously considered. Though Valanthe had a more sinister thought on that topic. They almost seemed too well prepared. An inside job perhaps? She hadn't voiced her thoughts however, as she'd sensed the assemblees were not willing to even begin entertaining such thought.

The second thing was very apparent however. The Campaign was a failure which everyone was _very_ lucky to get out of.

As the assembly dismissed and exited the briefing room, Valanthe, Renia and Obi-Wan remained behind, all three seemingly in their own thoughts.

"Well… at least I didn't fly off the rails this time," Valanthe broke the silence with a dry chuckle as she looked at her two friends.

"Thank the Force for minor miracles." Renia couldn't help but hold back her own chuckle at Valanthe's quip. Considering the tone of their debriefing and the amount of fault Republic Command tried to shift off their shoulders it was rather amazing that Vala had kept her temper in check. Hell it was amazing Ren herself hadn't given them a piece of her mind, she'd lost so many good troopers, so many good people. It still weighed heavily on her.

Valanthe laughed softly as she turned fully to the two. "I have to say, this isn't how I ever imagined the three of us meeting again. It was more along the line of exploring a Force user ruin somewhere. It's been a while since I've done that," she said more to herself than anyone else. "Yet, here we are. Involved in a war, leading an army, without knowing the full truth of it. Strange orders, stranger missions and even stranger results."

Her thoughts drew back to her own men, split and alone on different missions, without contact with her. Were they in contact with each other? They had to have found something on Balmorra that warranted the split. Why else would RMOI and GAR command split them up? To boot, why was the GAR involved in a RMOI mission?

"It's more than just the cloud of the Dark Side, like Master Yoda says." Riis added quietly.

"Soldiers have talked about the fog of war for millennia, how it keeps you from seeing anything clearly even if it's only a few feet in front of you," Obi-Wan said, his hand stroking his beard in thought. "I doubt they were talking about the Dark Side, but considering how insidious it can be…"

Ren couldn't help the eyebrow raise as Obi-Wan began hypothesizing right in front of them, it had been a long time since she'd seen him like this, maybe having the three of them back together was having more of an effect on him than she realized. "Well while he goes on about that, do you really think there's something more at work here? Obi-wan is right, the organization and bureaucracy in any army can confuse things."

Valanthe gave an uncharacteristic mix of a snort and a chuckle, showing just how exhausted she was. "It could be just the fact that the GAR didn't exist until Geonosis and we're still reeling from all the bureaucracy that it brought with it. That still doesn't explain strange orders, placements." The Mirialan shook her head and sighed. "Part of me wants to go back to Coruscant and chase down Black Sun gangsters who stole old relics and sold them in the Old Market."

She pinched the bridge of her tattooed nose, "but then again, I'm worried about my boys." At Renia's look, she chuckled, "hey, Fives and Echo, as much as I like them are Anakin's. I did... _do..._ have my own clone detachment."

"I didn't know the council had any non-Jedi leading Clone units," Ren said, surprised. Frankly even if they were, she wouldn't have expected many of the Council would have wanted Vala involved. Probably Master Yoda's doing, he always supported Vala. "What do they have you doing? Other than rescuing wayward friends."

"It's why I'm a Commander, not a General. They needed someone from the RMOI to train and run Clone Intelligence units," Valanthe explained. "Master Sinube pulled some strings after I left and helped me get into Intelligence. Then about four months before Kamino was attacked, both he and Yoda came to ask me to help train up clone spooks. I actually met Fives and Echo when I first met my trainees." The green woman smiled fondly at the memory, "they had us doing classified stuff."

She'd wanted to mention the Balmorran Armory Incident, but she doubted Renia would have heard of it, considering it was all not too long ago and probably while she was already deployed to Sermeria.

"My 2IC and my tech escorted a package to Coruscant, the others went to merge with the rest of my team on Felucia. I was assigned to the _Resolute_ for the time being. Though I suspect, I'll be moving again soon. They had to have finished their assignments by now."

"Wow! I mean I didn't even realize there were Clone Intelligence units." Ren imagined that'd be a little difficult with them all looking the same, but if there was anyone who could find a way around that it would be Vala. She always had a talent for getting into places she wasn't necessarily supposed to. "I can't image that's been easy, especially being separated from them. I've been with my guys since Geonosis and it's hard to think of what it would be like now to be assigned somewhere else."

"I'm a little worried… I haven't heard from the original Felucia team, since they were deployed, prior to our last op. No word from any of them yet, granted I haven't checked my messages yet, since we came back from Sermeria," Valanthe admitted quietly. "I'll have to make a call with my boss. What's next for you?" she asked, deflecting from her own anxiety.

She knew of only one way to deal with it. It was to do something about it. In this case, get a fix on her boys.

Ren placed her hand gently on Vala's shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. She had some understanding of what the other woman was feeling. "I don't know honestly, considering the casualties we took, I imagine we'll be off the front lines for awhile. Getting in fresh troopers and training them will take some time. My guess would be security on a core world or installation until then," Ren said, her eyes flicking to Obi-wan who was trying very hard not to look like he was intruding on their conversation. "But it's hard to tell considering this mission was a failure."

Valanthe nodded. "And you, Obi-Wan? What's next for the 212th?" She looked over at their friend with a fond, tired smile.

"Hmm? Oh yes, there have been reports of increased attacked against our forces garrisoned on Geonosis," Obi-wan explained, quickly slipping back into his role as Master and senior General. "I expect we will be heading there soon enough, their droid and weapons manufacturing facilities cannot be allowed to fall back into Separatist hands."

Valanthe nodded gravely, "I forget that the war continues for you, while I get to sneak around and avoid most of it. That being said, if either of you ever need to vent and I'm not deployed, call me, alright?" She looked at both Renia and Obi-Wan with a serious expression.

"Well I can't speak for Obi-Wan here, you know how much he loves a good brood," Renia said with a grin, trying to find the lighthearted side of this conversation. Not that she didn't appreciate the seriousness or the sentiment, but she didn't want to leave things on a somber note. "But I'm certainly going to keep in touch as much as possible."

Valanthe chuckled, "I'm sure Anakin will give him plenty to brood over as well. Walk with me?" She glanced at Renia.

"Sure," Ren said with a slight bow to Obi-wan and she fell into step with the Mirialan. Ren really didn't have an idea what Vala wanted to talk about, but at the same time she didn't really care, more time spent catching up was all she wanted. They could be enduring another one of Master Di's endurance training regimens and she would be happy.

As the doors of the Briefing Room closed behind them, Valanthe glanced over at her dark haired friend. "I've missed you, in all your Jedi-ness," she said with a smirk.

"I missed you too, in well everything really. It hasn't quite been the same since you left… even with Nemina around to keep me on my toes," Ren said with a slightly sad smile. One regret she had was that Vala hadn't been around to share in the experience of training a young Jedi, seeing them grow into a full member of the Order.

"She seems like a good soul, Nemina, very dedicated to being a healer. The look on her face and relief in her when I came to relieve her." Valanthe smiled as they walked, vaguely aware of the attention they were attracting. "I wonder if I ever would have taken on a Padawan of my own."

"She's an amazing healer and such a gentle soul, I hate that she's been forced to get involved in this war. But she's held up quite well, as I'm sure you would have to having your own Padawan. You'd have been a great Master, Vala I'm sure of it." The other Masters might have had an issue with what, Ren was sure, would have been an extremely unique training philosophy, but she knew just as strongly that it would have worked out brilliantly.

Valanthe laughed softly as they walked. "Maybe. But that is in the past now. Well, technically, since I _am_ teaching troopers to be spooks and believe me, knocking the need to obey and be uniform out of them is harder than it may appear."

"Now that I can agree with, but once you open that door they can really run with it, you've seen Oddball." Although the ARC was certainly a special case, no Clone she'd met so far had been so expressive. "You could still take a Padawan someday, maybe when the war's over… the Jedi will need good people who aren't caught up in the glory of it."

Vala's usually lilac eyes grew dark purple as a serious expression settled in her features. She looked over at her friend with a determined yet somewhat sad expression. "The Force has lead me away from the Jedi for a reason, Renia. They made their choice and I made mine. My life… trading it for the ways of the Jedi I don't agree with." A shake of her head as they continued walking, "I am an intelligence officer, not a Jedi."

After a few moments silence, a dry chuckle escaped her. "I do like Oddball though. Blew my mind when we realized he was the tech spec," she said, very obviously changing the subject.

As much as she loved Renia, the Onderonian woman's near insistence that _she could always come back_ never had the desired effect and wore Valanthe's patience thin on that subject.

Renia didn't miss the quick change of subject, or the somewhat strained look on her face. But she'd respect her friends desires on that point for now, Ren honestly believed that Vala could make an amazing Jedi again someday and that the Order could use someone like her — someone who saw the Galaxy in a much different light. She also pinned somewhat for the old days, when she and Vala had toured the Galaxy with their masters, searching out mysteries of the Force, righting the occasional wrong along the way. Maybe some of the others were right, that those days were well and gone… but Ren didn't want to accept that, she couldn't or what was the point?

"It surprised me too," the woman said, accepting the change in subject. "But he's a genius when it comes to tech and has saved our butts more than once. As crazy as he is part of me wishes there were another dozen just like him. But more of me likes that he's unique. Same goes for all the clones I've met."

Valanthe nodded, images coming unbidden to her mind of her own boys, and the two ARCs she lead into battle on Sermeria. For some reason the one with the Five tattooed on his temple more so than the one who Echoed orders. The feelings of fondness surprised her a little and she shook herself out of her thoughts quickly.

"When did we start creating races only to have them die for us, instead of us picking up weapons and doing it ourselves?" Riis asked quietly, sighing. "What will become of this life that we created, life that flourished despite its design, when the guns fall silent?"

"I… I don't know," Ren said honestly, she'd thought about it from time to time, especially once more and more of the clones began displaying their individuality. "I like to think that they will be free to follow their own interests, find paths in life that they feel are fulfilling. Considering how much they've sacrificed, they've certainly earned it."

The Mirialan nodded as they entered a lift, "indeed. Let us hope the Senate and GAR feel the same way. A year ago I couldn't imagine them even existing, let alone interacting with them. Now, I can't imagine not being able to."

"I know what you mean, maybe I've just gotten used the constant noise or the conversation… but it's hard to imagine going back to me and my Padawan. It's amazing I learn something new everyday with the clones, some of them are impossibly inquisitive."

Riis nodded, chuckling, "and so refreshingly innocent and untainted. They asked me to have drinks in the mess with them, Fives and Echo. Well… Fives asked."

"Oh he did?" Ren asked with a grin and a mischievous little glint in her eye. They might be Jedi… well Jedi and former Jedi but neither were completely innocent of the world. "And did he actually say that Echo would be there?"

A dark eyebrow raised, "yes, actually. He claimed he'd drag him down." Valanthe chuckled. "What's that grin for?"

"Hmm oh nothing." Ren's tone a touch lighter than normal, her grin still ever present. "You got invited for drinks, I think it's _nice._ "

Riis shook her head amusedly, "uh huh."

As the doors closed and they called for their destinations, Valanthe turned to face Renia. "Be careful out there. Question everything. Something is going on, the leads are not adding up to reality… it's the best I can describe it."

"I will, and you be careful too," Ren said, reaching out to lay her hands on her friend's shoulders. "You're right there does seem to be something out there, just out beyond the periphery and you're in much more of a position to see what's happening and that makes you dangerous, I… I don't want to lose you again."

"I don't want to lose you either, ferith," Valanthe sighed and smiled at the same time, slipping her arms under Renia's shoulders, wrapping them around her ribcage into an embrace. Ferith meant sister in the Mirialan language.

Smiling into the embrace, Renia wrapped her arms tightly around her friend… her family. It might be against the Jedi code to have attachment, but frankly she didn't care. What mattered, who mattered was in front of her. To know she was a part of Ren's life, and she a part of Vala's comforted her in way the Code never did.

As they pulled apart, Valanthe nodded in a silent confirmation of the connection they'd always shared.

"I should go call my boss," she said finally, sighing. "See if I can locate my boys. See if they're okay."

Truth be told, part of her didn't want to go. The _Resolute_ and its atmosphere, it's crew, held a certain appeal to the woman. Being with her old friends held another kind of appeal. What awaited out there was a dark and lonely reality.

"I hope they're alright," Ren said with a sigh of her own. She was sure it weighed heavily on Valanthe's mind, worse probably than she had worried about her troops who had been separated on the battlefield, at least they were on the same planet. "But no matter what, I'm here for you, just like you said you'd be for me."

Valanthe placed a hand on Renia's shoulder and squeezed. Nodding, she took a deep breath, "I'll let you know if I learn anything." She never expressed her emotions as openly as Renia, but rather acted, which in turn earned her some issues, such as the near expulsion and actual leaving of the Jedi Order.

That being said, when the lift door opened, with another nod. Valanthe stepped out, heading for a secure communications room.

Watching her friend leave, this time Ren didn't have the same bad feeling as she did all those years ago. Yes she wished they could have spent more time together, but somehow she just knew that this wouldn't be the last time they would see each other.

It had only been a couple of days since she parted ways with her team so she wasn't quite sure why she was so worried. She never used to worry before for her teammates. Was it because they were clones and in her mind needing of extra protection? Valanthe had to remind herself that these men were a) highly trained and b) stronger, faster and smarter than most if not all of them. They would be fine.

So why couldn't she stop worrying?

Banishing the thoughts for a moment, she nodded to the trooper who was standing guard outside the secured room and stepped inside as he keyed in the open code. Stepping over to the communications console, she tapped in a few commands.

"Computer, channel scramble set 3857 blue, Field Agent Cassandra for RMOI Field Operations Director," she dictated.

An image of Zabrak man's face appeared on the holo call.

" _For security purposes, please list the fourth, seventeenth and eighty first number,"_ the voice said.

The numbers were a security verification technique. Each agent memorized a set of numbers which they would recite to the controller. The numbers were picked randomly and never the same set twice. There was never a hard copy of the memorized numbers which were unique to each agent.

"Six, eighty-nine, zero." Valanthe returned calmly.

" _For security purposes, please give your personal code word."_

The personal code word was the second level of security measures.

"Starburst," Valanthe said, arms clasping behind her back as she started pacing the small room.

" _For security purposes, please give the priority gradient."_

The gradient indicated the level of urgency.

"Sienna."

No more requests out of security purposes were made, instead her friend, mentor and boss, Lex Night appeared.

"Valanthe…" he nodded to her, "how'd Sermeria go?"

She was surprised that he'd learned of the mission so quickly, even more of her participation in it.

"We managed to extract General Vinree and what was left of her troops." Valanthe found her voice as she began debriefing him, trying to keep in mind to ask about her team and not get distracted.

After another thirty minutes of retelling the Sermeria mission, she felt very much lead around. He never once mentioned the results of the Balmorran Arms Factory database decoding, nor the status of her and her men.

"Sir, has there been any progress on decoding the BAF database my men delivered?" Valanthe asked.

He tapped on a console next to him. "Just to be clear, you found survivors on each Case Orange points?"

 _What?_ Valanthe blinked, "uh, no, sir. Only on two, lead by ARC No-Nines and ARC Oddball each."

"Their CT designations?" Night continued, not lifting his head.

 _What's going on with you?_ Riis bottled down her confusion.

"CT 5735 - Sergeant No-Nines and CT 8945 - Sergeant Oddball. Why do you need this? Just look up the 442nd roster," she couldn't help asking. "Sir, the Balmorra mission results?"

Night nodded, "Your assessment of General Vinree and Padawan Alachi?"

Valanthe frowned, "they held their own under immense pressure. Expectedly distraught over the heavy losses but their stability and ability to lead has not been impacted. Sir..."

"Are they able to continue leading the 442nd Siegebreakers?" Night asked again.

Valanthe stopped pacing, looking over at him, "yes, sir. They are. You'll get my detailed reports within a few days, as usual. What's the status of my men and the Balmorra mission results?"

"How did the 501st ARCs in training perform?" Lex didn't look up from his console still.

"Admirably. I'm sending my commendations to Kamino to their ARC trainer." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her tattooed nose.

"Kenobi and Skywalker?"

"Lex, with due respect, you're stalling," she said finally, staring square in the light holographic eyes as if trying to sense him through the Force half way across the galaxy.

He, however, didn't miss a beat, "I am sending your Lieutenant and your tech to rendezvous with the _Resolute._ You are to connect with them and make your way to Felucia. Your Lieutenant has the details of the assignment. Once you wrap up on Felucia you and your team are ordered to return to Coruscant and report to General Telth for your next assignment."

"General Telth? Since when does he run my missions?" Valanthe almost choked, blinked then let out a deep breath. "Sorry, sir. I'm just surprised."

Night held up a placating hand, "you _do_ lead GAR personnel, Riis. But this is a temporary assignment. You are still my officer."

It seemed to her that he was holding back. Usually he was far more open with her and relaxed. Now it seemed like he was trying to not let on there was more to be said while giving hints that there indeed was.

 _I'll need to talk to him when I'm back on Coruscant._ Valanthe decided as she nodded at Night.

"Understood, sir. When will they arrive?" She asked then, schooling her features into a neutral mask.

"They are due to rendezvous with the _Resolute_ in three days time at the Carcel Resupply Station where you will receive instructions given to your men," Night said. "Anything else?" He asked in a clipped tone.

Valanthe shook her head. "No, sir."

"Alright, Night out."

With that said, the holo projector turned off, leaving a confused and even more worried Mirialan in its wake.

As she logged off and secured the console she exited the secure room and tapped on her wristcomm.

"Admiral Yularen, this is Valanthe Riis, I never got to ask, what's our current destination?" she asked in the nicest tone she could.

"Carcel Resupply Station, Commander," came a swift reply from the eloquent Admiral.

"Thank you, sir. Riis out." Valanthe headed for the nearest turbolift, trying to wrap her head around the entirely cryptic and worrying conversation she'd just had.

* * *

 _ *****Resolute Mess Hall, three days later*****_

It wasn't that she was avoiding them, Fives and Echo, it was more they were on drills and busy training and preparing for their own departure and she was trying her best to catch up with Renia and her Padawan. They had years and years to catch up on, yet somehow, most of their talks revolved around Dalleron, Vala's departure and what they've been doing since the War began.

With her time of departure approaching, the Spirits and the fabric of the Universe decided to afford her some time with the two ARCs she'd commanded in her first field battle. She entered the Clone mess hall with some hesitation, knowing most Jedi and officers tended to avoid or, as they'd said, leave the Clones to themselves.

She almost needed to sit down, however, when she sensed all the myriad of emotion swirling around the room. Though, if you looked at it from the outside, it was the epitome of a normal, soldier's mess. Even if a little subdued. Shaking her head a little, she pulled up her mental shields and put on a smile as she located Fives and Echo sitting with Rex and two other clones, each bald with rather big and colourful tattoos on their heads.

Fives noticed her first. He was honestly not sure she'd ever take him up on the offer. Why would she after all? She was a Jedi, or a spook, as she insisted. He was just an expendable clone. Despite his own recent assertions to the contrary, the fact was most people considered him and his brothers so. She _did_ seem different, treating them as people, like Burner had once said. But how far did that "different" go?

Echo had been delighted when he'd mentioned the possibility to him and even offered decent reasons why she hadn't come to see them, even Rex offered that the Mirialan seemed to spend most of her time with the General of the 442nd. So, Fives wasn't sure why he felt so deflated over the whole thing. Not that he showed it, it was only really Echo, his closest vod and Rex, soon becoming as close to him as Echo, that noticed his anxieties over such a small act.

So when she entered the mess hall, he felt a lump in his throat he didn't expect. She seemed a little overwhelmed for a moment before she looked over in their direction and smiled brightly.

He couldn't help but grin, "need your caf, Commander?" Fives called across a few tables.

Valanthe chuckled softly, "it would seem so. Give me a moment to grab a cup and I'll be with you boys."

Well at least Fives and Echo seemed happy to see her. Rex seemed very amused and the other two, a mix of wary and curious. Well the one with the blue tattoo more intently curious and nearly bursting with energy.

"See, told you she'd show up." Echo glanced over at Fives with a knowing grin, which earned him a punch in the shoulder.

"You weren't kidding, sir," the blue tattooed clone commented, his eyes following the Mirialan when he felt a kick under the table. "Ow! What?!" He glared at the one with the tattoo of the emblem of the republic across half of his face.

The other four clones were glaring back at him. "That is a superior officer you are leering at, trooper," Rex growled at him. "Keep your eyes to yourself, Hardcase."

Hardcase straightened up a little, not looking at all repentant. "Sorry, sir."

"Yeah, of course you are." Rex chuckled as he looked over to his right where Echo and Fives sat. "Good to see you again, Commander."

Valanthe chuckled as she sat down next to the two ARCs. "Hello boys. Good to see you too." Looking over at the two tattooed ones, she nodded, "Valanthe Riis, pleased to meet you."

"I'm Jesse, he's Hardcase," the one with the Republic emblem said and the other one nodded. "We hear you actually made Fives and Echo invisible?"

Valanthe sipped her caf slowly, glancing over at Fives who sat next to her, then at the others, "mhm, I did. It was quite a challenge coordinating everything, but we did it." She winked at the two ARCs who grinned back at her. "So, you two are with the 501st too, I assume?"

"Yes, ma'am. We're under the Captain here." Jesse grinned, slapping the Captain's pauldron gently at which he earned a disapproving glare from Rex and a chuckle from Fives and Echo.

"Alright you two, let's go. We got patrol duty in a few minutes. Fives, Echo, gym after you're done, I'll meet you there after patrol," Rex ordered as he stood up, in a very Obi-Wan Kenobi-lightly frustrated manner. "It was good to see you, Commander."

Valanthe chuckled, nodding. "How much did you beg Rex to leave you alone with me?" she asked, noting how Echo had moved to sit where Rex was sitting to see both her and Fives better.

Fives laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. She had such an easy manner about her, he couldn't help but admire it. Even in nearly impossible conditions, in battle, she kept her easy composure. "Yeah, we may have bought him off with our stash of sweets."

This earned a pearl of giggles from the Mirialan. "What, both of you?"

"We may have also ascertained the particular kind of sweets the Captain favours and acquired a certain amount. How, naturally, is classified." Echo supplied with a grin of his own.

"Naturally," Valanthe nodded, winking. "I wanted to thank you boys, for your help on Sermeria. You really came through without me having to guide you much. It was my first battle command. You two knowing what to do really helped." Her tone sobered as she looked at each of the men.

"All we did was our duty, Commander. With your leadership it was easy," Fives said, though he felt lifted at her words as he was sure Echo did as well.

"Like Fives said… but thank you. We appreciate your faith in us too, sir," Echo supplied what both he and Fives were thinking. "Not many people trust us as fully."

Valanthe nodded somberly, "so I hear. If it makes you feel any better, us spooks don't get much love either. Naturally, I can't and am not comparing…"

Fives nodded, "so, are you staying with us for a while?" Somehow, he knew she'd say no. It bothered him, but he wasn't sure why. This was war, she was a Jedi he was a clone and they both had their jobs, and he was alright with that. So why did it bother him?

Valanthe sighed, "I'm afraid I get off at Carcel Station. New orders came in. I'm heading for Felucia with Burner and Stick, they should already be there." She looked over at them, wanting to tell them the full story. But she hadn't told her two closest friends because she wasn't allowed to. Telling two ARCs who didn't even serve under her decreased that possibility further.

Fives and Echo nodded, each projecting their own form of disappointment and understanding at the news.

"You guys are going back to Kamino to finish training soon?" She turned the conversation around to them again, determined to enjoy the last few hours of relative peace before the harsh reality of who she was and what she did came back and bit her in the ass.

They nodded in well attuned unison. "After we resupply at Carcel, we're heading to Kamino, then, then we get the fun missions." Fives chuckled, "who knows, we may even be sent to help your people, when you need some proper help."

"Proper help, huh?" She smirked, glancing from one to the other. "Are you implying Clone Intelligence and RMOI can't handle themselves?"

"No, no, of course not, Commander." Echo held his hands up, trying to placate.

Fives grinned, speaking at the same time, "not at all, we're just… better. Being ARCs and all." He turned slightly to face her more fully.

Valanthe looked over at him, taking in the striking features with a smirk. Amber coloured eyes, chiseled features, jet black hair that seemed like it would be soft to the touch, the very stylized goatee, the number 5 tatooed on his temple, all enhanced by the mischievous look on his face.

Then there was Echo who, though technically identical looking, gave off a completely different appearance. No individualized markings save for the blue handpring on his armour, the standard haircut most clones had, no facial hair to speak of. Yet, his posture and expression spoke of fierce intelligence and hidden wisdom, with a touch of naivete.

"Being ARCs and all, hm…" Vala smirked into her caf, "well, how about you finish your training first and get some miles under your belt and then I'll put you on my backup list, how's that?" She rose her eyebrow in challenge.

Oh how she would miss those two when she left. They seemed on a completely different independence scale than her own men, despite the latter having been trained by her personally. It was becoming clearer to her as time went on that individuality couldn't be pushed or forced, it could only be nurtured when identified and let develop on its own. This was the lesson she took from her time with Fives and Echo and the 501st.

The two of them grinned, snapping to mock attention, bellowing, "sir, yes, sir!" They each saluted to add to the effect. This caused all three of them to burst into laughter.

"So, tell me, what was Rishi station like?" she asked with a chuckle as they calmed down.

At first they were a little hesitant to talk about that and the attack on Kamino, but with some gentle urging from Vala, they launched into a flurry of stories of their time on the Rishi station up till the moment of its destruction. Hours passed easily in shared stories. Vala regaled them with a few stories from her time as a Jedi, particularly some involving Masters Vinree, Kenobi and, of course, General Skywalker.

It was glancing at the chronometer that sobered Valanthe up. They would be docking with the station soon. "Well boys, I need to go pack up and get ready to depart…" she said with a well practiced smile, but one she didn't at all feel.

The three of them stood up together. "It was a pleasure working with you, Commander." Fives said, extending his hand to her, Echo mirroring his action a moment later.

"Likewise boys." Valanthe nodded, shaking each of their hands firmly. "You two stay alive, you hear?" It took a lot of her self discipline to remain smiling and project her positive attitude.

The pit in Fives' stomach grew as she shook their hands. Being a professional, however, he maintained the cheerful grin. There was no reason to feel this strange, people came in and out of lives, war went on, missions went on. He had his vode to look out for, he had Echo to to look out for. That was all he needed. That was all he knew. That was all he was made for. To fight… and die.

Only he found himself not wanting to do the latter all that much.

"How did you say, swift winds to you, Commander?" Echo's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Valanthe grinned, "and to you both." With a bow of respect, she left the Mess Hall, steeling herself, focusing on the time ahead.

* * *

 _ *****An hour later, departure bay*****_

 _Why am I here again? We said our goodbyes to her in the Mess Hall. Why would she care if I was here to see her off? Why do I care for that matter? Damn you, Echo!_ Fives debated inwardly with himself as he paced the departure bay. Echo had subtly hinted to him that she might appreciate the send off and Fives took his hint. Why? It was done, end of, moving on!

 _Because she's a decent person treating us decently and it's normal to want to be in the presence of such._ He justified his internal confusion to himself, rather ignoring everyone else who shuffled to and fro the room.

"Haar'chak Vod, you're going to wear a hole in the deck plating if you keep pacing back and forth like that," Oddball said as he and No-Nines fast-roped down from one of the overhead catwalks, both with wide grins on their faces as they appeared next to the fellow clone. They'd come by to see the Commander off when Oddball noticed that someone was already waiting at the shuttle; and when he and No-Nines realized it was Fives, they couldn't resist the chance to to have a little fun with their ARC in training.

Fives blinked. "Kriffin hells, Oddball! What are you two doing fastroping in a non-training area?" He asked as he got over the surprising entrance of the older ARCs.

There was also the fact he felt slightly embarrassed, and it could be seen in the slight red flush of his tanned skin as he had no helmet on.

"What are you two doing here anyway?"

"Other than having a bit of… impromptu training?" Oddball asked, the grin on his face only getting wider. "We thought we'd come by and see the Commander off, it's the least we can do after all, considering she saved our skins back on Sermeria."

"Since we're on the subject, what exactly might you be doing here?" No-Nines added, his voice even, not letting on that he was enjoying ribbing the other clone almost as much as Oddball was. He actually liked Fives, and probably wouldn't have decided to mess with him this much had it just been the two of them. But hang around with Oddball long enough and a few bad habits tended to rub off on you.

"The same, she did command Echo and myself." Fives shrugged non-commitally. "Echo's in one of Rex's theoretical crafting sessions, so I came for the both of us."

The tone of No-Nines' voice put the younger ARC somewhat at ease, but that grin on the crazy tech vod's face? Now that was a whole different pair of problems. As much as he liked the two, No-Nines was the one he'd pick to watch his back any day if given a choice. Not that he didn't trust Oddball, but he was… odd. Just as his name said.

"Ah well what a coincidence," Oddball said with a chuckle, his hand landing hard but jovially on Fives' shoulder pauldron. "We can wait here together! It shouldn't be too long before she's scheduled to leave."

"Rrrright." Fives eyed the gauntleted hand on his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "So, where's General Vinree? I would have thought she'd be here too? Seeing as the two are friends."

Why did he feel uncomfortable? Did he look it? Why'd they have to come?

"Oh I'm sure she'll be here soon, if she's not already with the Commander." No-Nines thought it was about time he butted in, Oddball could be a bit overwhelming at times. "Relax Fives, they'll be here when they'll be here. Jedi love to just float into a room as if they're always right on time."

Fives chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. I remember Commander Tano saying something about that," he affected the young Togruta's mannerisms, "a Jedi is never late, nor are they early, they arrive exactly when they are supposed to." Switching back to the natural, clone accent, he chuckled, "or something to that effect. Hey, you two did really good back there, it was a pleasure watching you work. I hope Echo and I can be on your level one day."

"I wouldn't worry about that, considering that you two are only trainees and survived all that says a lot. I'm sure you two will be damn good ARCs," No-Nines said with a grin, one that Oddball held as well. They'd both been impressed by the two Clones, it would be interesting to see where they would be in just a few short months.

"Vor entye, vod." Fives grinned, nodding at the two. **(tr: Thank you, brother.)**

He felt humbled and a little honoured by No-Nines' words. These two were the first ARCs he'd met outside Kamino as a shiny, and later in ARC training, first ARCs he could genuinely talk to, soak up their experiences.

Oddball was about to make another teasing yet still supportive remark when he heard the flight deck access doors open and Renia walked in. Quite a bit more rested and centered than she had been when under siege, Ren looked like an all new woman. The color had come back to her light brown cheeks and her eyes had far more spark… more fire to them. Ren had even had a chance to repair and even change her somewhat distressed clothing. Her style changed slightly, the blues still present, and sleeves that only came up just past her biceps, but they were a little sharper. Still Jedi-like but it definitely took some influence from Valanthe.

"General Vinree, ma'am!" Fives called out of habit, snapping to attention.

Taking slightly aback by the sudden snap to attention, Ren had to blink away her confusion for a moment. "As you were Fives, I'm off duty right now, just here as a friend." Renia said with a smile. Her own ARCs still relaxed, knowing her preference for informality when possible, especially in more social situations like this.

Fives nodded, relaxing. "Right… sorry, sir."

He shifted a little, wondering where the Commander was. The shuttle would be leaving soon for the Supply Station. Or had she already left? He felt a sudden heaviness in his heart at the thought, though he wasn't sure why.

"Fives," Renia said quietly. Not quietly enough to keep the others from hearing, but enough that they'd have to try and listen. "I said you could relax, not get even more tense." His reaction was odd but rather endearing, all Clones were unique despite their origins but Fives… Fives just might have been the most unique Clone she'd ever met.

He looked over at the dark haired Jedi, throwing on a grin. "Sorry, ma'am. This is all very outside the norm so it takes a bit of getting used to," Fives admitted.

"I can imagine. After Geonosis when I took command of the four-four-two, I visited Kamino." Renia frowned a bit, that trip had not been quite what she'd expected. "The environment there, the constant regimentation, the training… it doesn't quite prepare you for anything but being a soldier. I was impressed of course by the facilities and the training, but most of all by how each of you developed far beyond what the Kaminoans intended or imagined. But they did very little to prepare you all for that."

"Heh, I guess that was a long way around to saying that you'll get used to it eventually."

"Well, at least we all hope so." Valanthe announced her presence as she stepped closer to the group.

She had taken to hiding her own presence by habit, as well as moving and walking quietly. This usually ended up with her scaring the people she moved towards to. But the fact that the four of them had come to see her off, it warmed her more than she could describe, which showed in the fact she was grinning widely.

Fives threw on a mock huff, "I'd like to think we're doing well!" He crossed his gauntleted arms on his armoured chest, trying to give her an indignant glare and failing.

Renia could only shake her head and chuckle, smiling widely as her friend appeared nearby. She thought she'd sensed Valanthe's presence nearby and wasn't surprised when the woman revealed herself. Ren hadn't know exactly where the Mirialan was, or just how close she was to their group, but still she wasn't shocked. Oddball and No-Nines on the other hand jumped at least a couple of inches as Vala began talking.

The interesting thing was Fives — he didn't jump, didn't even seem concerned by the sudden appearance. Considering how tightly wound he'd been a moment before, she'd expected he'd be all the way up to the rafters by now. Once again this clone was surpassing her expectations.

"I never said you lot weren't." Valanthe smirked, "in fact, the General and I were just discussing how we couldn't imagine our lives without you, anymore."

"You all have made quite the impression, I like to imagine many of the Jedi will have trouble adjusting to not having a Clone or few around to keep them honest." Ren had been thinking about that a lot lately, ever since Vala brought it up a few days before. What would the Jedi and the Clones be like after the war, could they learn to live without the other again?

"Oh I don't know," Fives chuckled looking at his two brothers in jest, "some people would say you Jedi did a number on us, made us stray from our purpose. But I don't mind really, do you?"

"I know _we,_ " Valanthe motioned between Renia and herself, "don't mind."

"Speak for yourself Fives, I'm obviously the pinnacle of Kaminoan training and genetic engineering. Everything they could have hoped for in an elite soldier…" Oddball replied, puffing out his chest in mirthful pride. "Oh and I guess No-Nines too."

"Thanks for including me in this little delusion of yours Oddball," his fellow ARC shot back, his deadpan well timed and obviously practiced.

Valanthe's shoulders shook with mirth as a soft laugh escaped her. As much as she appreciated them coming to see her off, all this good cheer was making leaving all the harder.

"I am going to miss you, all of you," she said finally.

She looked from one to the other, taking a moment to take each of them in.

"We'll miss you too Valanthe," Renia said, the reality of the goodbyes tugging at her heart a bit. This could actually be the last time they saw one another. Despite her feelings to the contrary, wars had a tendency to influence the force dramatically.

The Mirialan stepped closer, setting her duffel bag down. She pulled Renia into a tight hug. "Stay alive," Valanthe whispered into Renia's ear.

"As long as you promise to do the same," Ren whispered back, squeezing her friend just that little bit tighter. Part of her never wanted to let go, the part of her that was still that insecure young woman who needed her strong, confident friend around for support. Of course she had to let go, had to let Vala go about her duties, and she hated herself just a little bit for knowing that.

"I promise to try, which is the best we can do," Valanthe winked at Renia as she pulled away, sensing a strange feeling emanating from all the three clones next to them.

They seemed… envious? Wanting? She wasn't sure, the emotion wasn't overly clear.

So she looked over at them, "oookay, what is it?"

"It's nothing, Commander," No-Nines quickly said, his eyes shifting a bit as both Jedi looked at him quizzically. No-Nines didn't mind being the center of attention but there was something about two Jedi examining him so closely that was a bit… unnerving. "It's just that…"

"It's strange seeing people hug, especially Jedi," Oddball said with a shrug. "It's not something a Clone would have much experience in, Kaminoans aren't really the touchy-feely type."

Valanthe laughed softly, "well then," she opened her arms and stepped over to No-Nines first, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Not quite sure what to do with the woman wrapping her arms around him, No-Nines pulled his arms tight to his body. Looking at his brothers, eyes wide it took a moment for the ARC to unfreeze and return the gesture hesitantly. It wasn't unpleasant, in fact it was comforting… just strange, but a good kind of strange.

"It's okay," Valanthe chuckled into his neck as she squeezed him a little tighter before stepping away and heading over to Oddball, arms spread again. "Come on, I won't bite." The Mirialan chuckled at the timid reactions of the usually boisterous men.

"I… ahh, don't know about this," Oddball said hesitating a bit as the Mirialan moved in his direction. It felt like something he'd seen on one of those early morning weekend holo-specials.

Fives chuckled softly from the side, "come on, vod. This may be your only chance to hug a girl."

Valanthe grinned stepping closer, "well?" She spread her arms further.

"Well… I…" Oddball was still hesitant but damned if he was going to let No-Nines say he was the braver of the two. Spreading his arms a bit and stepping forward, the ARC tried not to cringe as he felt her arms wrap around his middle.

Valanthe laughed softly as she embraced him lightly, trying not to laugh too much however, so as not to embarrass the usually self assured ARC. "See? Feels good!"

The feeling of elation No-Nines tampered down, and the mix of wanting some too and wanting to appear more manly that No-Nines at the same time from Oddball highly amused her.

 _Another curiosity that is a clone._ The green woman thought to herself.

"Yeah it ah, feels good… I guess," Oddball said rubbing the back of his head a slightly embarrassed flush filling his cheeks. In all honesty he was covering his feelings, he'd actually quite enjoyed the hug, but what kind of big bad ARC would he be if he admitted it.

Fives was laughing softly and a little flustered up as the Commander stepped up in front of him. "Now, vod, this is how you hug a girl," He announced grandly as he stepped closer to Valanthe, praying he called it right and lightly wrapped his arms around her while trying to appear as if he had it all under control, all confident and suave.

Embracing Oddball and No-Nines had been more fun than anything else. However, the fact that Fives half intercepted her into a rather confident hug left Valanthe feeling unexpectedly warm and tingly. He squeezed her a little for good measure.

"Hmm, seems you did more than hear about those certain places, hm?" she murmured into his shoulder with clear amusement as she felt him stiffen up a bit and gradually release her before he collected himself.

"Audio input and practical application, aced that in ARC training," he countered.

A laugh escaped her, "I see. Well, it's paid off, that's for certain. You two should take lessons." She glanced at Renia and her two crazy ARCs.

Renia was doing her best not to crack up watching Vala hug the clones. In all the time she'd known the two ARCs she'd never seen them so uncomfortable and yet elated before. Vala certainly had a way about bringing out the good in people.

" _All departing personnel, please board your shuttles,"_ the announcement came.

Valanthe's demeanour almost instantly sobered up, adjusting her duffel bag. "Well, time to go. May the Force be with you all and swift winds at your back," she said, giving a little bow.

"May the Force be with you too old friend," Renia said returning the bow, her smile brighter than ever. Vala may not be returning to the Jedi and she may be leaving for dangerous parts unknown, but she was back in Ren's life and following the right path. That was enough for the young Onderonian.

Fives nodded solemnly, "take care of yourself, Commander." Despite it all, he still felt his gut twisting., but why?

"And don't do anything stupid now," Oddball called after her, earning him an elbow to the ribs from No-Nines. The more level headed ARC giving her a wave a moment later.

Valanthe chuckled, "no promises, I will try, you two keep the General safe, you hear?" With a nod and a bright smile she didn't feel, Valanthe stepped onto the transport that would take her to her designated bay, where she would meet with her own boys, Burner and Stick.

As the doors closed the transport took off, the Mirialan took a deep, steadying breath. _Once more, into the fire._ With that thought, she was off, Felucia-bound to take the reins of her unit again, to do what she knew best. To seek the truth.


	13. Chapter 13: Jungle Trails

**A/N:** Hello there lovelies, apologies for the delay in chapters – Real Life came for a visit again, but alas, Chapter 13 made it out. **Kaichi** joins me again as co-author of this chapter, backed up by our loyal beta's **NixNox** and **Sketch**.

We are also experimenting with slightly shorter chapters (or shorter and split up chapters) this time around to facilitate an easier read. Let us know what you think! Remember, reviews are love!

 _ **The Signal**_ \- inspired by the one used by **Karen Traviss** in **Star Wars: Republic Commando - Order 66** , the **da-dita**

* * *

There they were, Burner and Stick. It almost felt as if they had been apart for months instead of but a few days. Sermeria seemed like one long campaign. But it was over now. Now she was in familiar, comfortable territory.

"Hello boys," Vala greeted her second-in-command and her tech expert with a grin.

The two snapped to attention out of obvious habit.

"Hello Commander," Burner greeted with a hint of a smirk.

It amazed Vala still how even their style of speech was different.

"Ma'am." Stick added with a nod.

"Relax. You know you don't need to stand on formality with me." She reminded them.

The two immediately relaxed their stances.

"Sorry, ma'am, Coruscant was...intense. after we delivered the database we were instructed to report to GAR barracks and await further instruction." Burner explained as he lead the way over to another departure bay.

"Ah, everyone spit, polish and by the book?" Vala chuckled.

"Pretty much." It was Stick who supplied the answer.

Valanthe nodded as she fell into step with Burner, "Burner, what's going on? HQ wouldn't tell me anything. How far did they get with the Balmorra database? They wouldn't tell me anything about our Felucia team either."

There was contained, almost subdued feeling from her first in command as they walked, she couldn't quite pin it down. Reluctance? Orders? Actual duplicity? _No, stop it. Burner is loyal. They all are._

"Felucia II reported that Felucia I was MIA upon their arrival to the listening post." Burner started, "then Felucia II missed the last three check-ins." His tone echoed concern and worry, the tone dropping a little.

Stick, beside him, was much less contained and a lot more worried. Still, as a good soldier, he kept it to himself. He couldn't though keep it away from the Force. So Valanthe understood now that they too were worried about their teammates, their vod'e.

"Burner, I'm getting stonewalled on the Balmorra database." Valanthe grabbed his upper arm and tugged him to stop and face her. "What the hells did we find that nobody wants to tell me anything?"

She looked up at his amber coloured eyes, suddenly, briefly seeing an image of another trooper, an ARC in training, with the number 5 tattooed on his temple. The Mirialan blinked it away, "RMOI has been walling me off every moment I ask. Talk to me, vod." She kept her tone low, soft, enticing.

Burner gazed down at her for a moment, his usually hard eyes softening a little, "they took it off of us the moment we landed. The GAR. I don't know if it ever made the RMOI office." He admitted, not taking his amber eyes off of her lilac ones.

Vala frowned as she processed the news. "Stang! I need to get to Coruscant after we find our teams." She murmured, letting go of Burner's arm and they resumed walking.

The sudden tension from the two men had Vala alarmed as they entered the other departure bay.

"What?" The Mirialan glanced between the two.

"We...uh," Stick began, "the Jedi sent us backup."

"Backup? What am I chopped julpa?" It left her lips before she could help herself.

Burner chuckled, "kriff no, Commander. You're the boss. I think they sent General Krell because his battalion was wiped out and he has no troops to command yet."

"Again…" Stick added underbreath. It was however loud enough for Valanthe to hear.

Pong Krell, a tall, big Besalisk Jedi Master. Riis had heard of him through the grapewine. Initially she'd thought it had simply been bad luck or a mission gone bad to have lost so many of his men.

Stick's quiet comment however had her wondering. Had she missed that much by not reading his file? Before she could think on it more, however, she caught sight of him, standing facing away from them, all four of his arms clasped behind his back.

Looking out over the modest assembly area, Pong Krell could only sigh heavily. This should have been his command, not that he doubted Aayla's command or ability, it just should have been his battalion to secure Felucia. Instead the senior General only had a small force under his command, two small companies in fact. At least they were specially trained Jungle Troops, it was a small concession on the Council and the GAR's part but he would accept it, despite his personal feelings. After all his assignments had been some of the toughest in the war so far, of course casualties were high…

Too high perhaps, the last campaign cost him many clones, replaceable of course but that would take time and his new troops would not be as well trained or experienced. No, the true loss was of his Padawan, a young Selkath with much potential. Potential robbed from him by his troops' incompetence, if the clones had just achieved their objectives in the first place Janak Dass would not have had to re-enforce them, or put himself in the Separatist's sights.

Valanthe could feel the distaste, which was putting it mildly, roll off of the Besalisk in waves as the trio approached him.

"General Pong Krell?" Valanthe called, feeling the two clones on either side of her snap to stiff attention.

She clasped her hands behind her back, waiting for him to acknowledge her before she introduced herself.

Sensing the woman and the two Intelligence Clones behind him the tall Besalisk turned slowly. "I am, and you must be Commander Riis, the Council said you'd be coming. I thought you'd be here sooner." He eyed the two clones at her sides briefly, pleased to see that while they were part of an unconventional profession they weren't lacking in discipline.

Valanthe nodded lightly, unable to shake the feeling she too should stand at attention in his severe presence.

"Apologies for that, General. The _Resolute_ got delayed at Sermeria. Extracting the 442nd _Siege Breaker_ battalion took longer than anticipated," Valanthe replied.

She could feel Stick and Burner glance at her with curiosity and confusion, mixed in with discomfort at the General's presence.

"We're grateful for your assistance in our mission, however. Have you been briefed?" The Mirialan pushed through it all, her own discomfort too.

Nodding at the answer, Krell let the issue pass. While he would have preferred to begin things sooner the slight delay was of no real consequence. "I have somewhat, although my focus was more on the main campaign on the planet. You're missing two intelligence teams as I understand it."

Valanthe nodded, looking over at Burner. "My first in command, Lieutenant Burner, he'll give us a full brief once we get on the transport."

Burner stiffened even further, she could tell. Part of her felt sorry for exposing the man like so when he was clearly uncomfortable with the Besalisk's presence, yet it had to be done, he had the fullest set of information.

"Shall we?" Valanthe pointed to the nearby transport ship. "We should reach Felucia within the next two days."

"My troops are ready to embark whenever you are," Krell said before turning to the Clone Lieutenant...this Burner as Riis called him. "I look forward to hearing your report." And with that simply emotionless statement Krell turned and headed off deeper into the supply area, eager to gather his troops and get on the move.

Valanthe looked over at Stick and Burner, shrugging a little before following after the Jedi Master. A thought trailed in Vala's head as they entered the ship, _this is the second Jedi in a short span to feel so angry, so...dark. So wrong._

She'd asked Stick to find them quarters and stow their gear while she and Burner met up with General Krell in a briefing room they commandeered from the transport crew.

"Alright, so, roughly six months ago, after my first generation of intelligence clones was trained, we sent three of them, the Felucia I team, to establish a listening post there to help coordinate our efforts on the planet." Valanthe began as they gathered around the small holo table, the holographic image of Felucia shining in the middle. "Burner?"

The clone nodded, pointing to a location on the map. "Felucia I, consisting of Blackie, Len and Vas, set up a listening post at this location. High terrain, good cover, good communication spot, as well as good field of vision. The rest of the team was sent on a different assignment, during which Felucia I stopped checking in. After the assignment three more intelligence clones were sent to investigate. Felucia II consisted of Pel, Aster and Torn. On arrival they had reported Felucia I as MIA. They took over running the outpost in the interim while they waited for reinforcements to investigate Felucia I's disappearance." The red headed clone then sighed, "unfortunately, Felucia II has missed their last three check-ins. GAR Intel and RMOI are, of course, concerned."

"The position seems well chosen, no obvious tactical weak points…" Krell said studying the holographic display, one hand stroking his chin, one manipulating the controls and his second pair clasped tightly behind his back. "So what mistakes were made, what was missed? Did your second team mention anything that might give us a clue as to what happened?"

"Negative, General. That is our assignment." Burner replied.

"Do we have copies of their reports?" Vala asked.

Burned nodded, "I'll have them delivered to both you and the General momentarily."

Vala nodded, glancing over at the Besalisk. "If you could get us those reports, I'd appreciate it, Burner." She said, her tone amiable, out of habit.

"Will do, Commander." Nodding at her, he snapped to quick attention at Krell. "Sir." With that he turned on his heel and marched out of the room.

 _Wound tighter than a coil._ Valanthe mused as she observed Krell. "I heard you lost most of your men in the last campaign. I'm sorry." She said, her tone and posture softening.

"It was a regrettable loss, my battalion was well trained, the war effort will feel their absence." Krell was...used to the loss of Troopers in this war having done so since Geonosis. But Krell knew that he got the assignments that were toughest and he achieved them every time, despite the high losses. "We could not have used a force to come relieve us like you and General Kenobi did on Sermeria, we had to fight on instead of retreating."

Valanthe nodded, "that can't have been easy. Seeing your men die around you." She looked up at him, slightly puzzled at his tone and words.

"There is a point where you realize when the casualties being taken pass into unacceptable numbers, yes." Krell said, finally turning away from the display. "Something which I hope you never have to experience."

Riis nodded slowly, "alas, I probably already have. Though perhaps, such is not the will of the Force, not just yet."

Before she could say more however, Burner returned, carrying two info-tabled devices. "There you go, Commander, General." He said giving them one each.

Valanthe nodded, "thanks Burner. You and Stick go grab some food and get some rest. The General and I will go over these reports and see what we can make of them. I'll call you if we need you."

Burner nodded, "understood. Thanks, Commander." With another nod to both of them, he left them alone again.

* * *

***Two days later, Felucia, enroute to the listening post***

The rest of the trip had been rather quiet, the two clones mostly keeping to themselves, Krell keeping to himself, while Vala gravitated between the two, keeping herself busy with her own devices as well. The atmosphere, though quiet, wasn't comfortable. An unusual air hung about them, one she couldn't quite describe. Was it the discomfort Burner and Stick felt towards Krell and his cool, disengaged demeanour? Was it the fact the two felt different since arriving from Coruscant, coupled with Krell's presence? She couldn't tell. Maybe it was the fact she'd spent a few very happy, comfortable days on the _Resolute_ prior to this and this was a sudden change? But she expected it to go back to being constantly worried.

Right now, she had to be focused on their mission, finding out what happened to their teams, her boys and securing the listening post by any means necessary. If the site was compromised and/or dangerous, they needed to destroy the outpost to make sure the enemy didn't get their hands on Republic property.

As the quartet made their way through the unusual, colorful countryside, Valanthe couldn't help but feel a twinge of hypocrisy at the thought. Technically they could have already done that. The outpost itself, the clones. Technically, those men were property, slaves to the whims of their masters.

The thought disgusted the Mirialan. But this thought needed to go on the backburner for the time, so she willed herself to focus on their surroundings and mission.

"We're three clicks due west of the post," Stick commented as he and Burner took point, while Vala brought up the rear, with Krell in the middle.

Vala nodded. "This place feels so strange, so alive. But unlike anything I've felt before," She said, turning to get a sense of the surroundings behind them before turning back to face her small team.

It wasn't just the place that felt strange, it was their Jedi companion too. He almost felt as strange as Anakin did back when she first saw him on Balmorra. Not as darkened as Anakin had felt, more muted, dimmed.

"Not been here before then, ma'am?" Burner asked, forgetting himself momentarily.

He'd been very stiff and following the book of decorum in Krell's presence, while being a little more relaxed in the presence of herself and Stick during the evening meals they shared on the transport. It had almost been like in those months prior to and on Balmorra. Before the end of the mission, before Coruscant.

Vala shook her head, stepping around a giant mushroom-like plant, "no, not quite. I was more focused on more civilized areas, assets rather than venturing into the unknown."

"You should get out into the unknown more often Riis, the Temples are nothing like this." Krell had been relatively quiet for most of the trip, he had instead focused on the world around them. There was life here, vibrant if somewhat chaotic life, but still he held the connection to it, to those creatures lurking deep in the jungle. He briefly wondered how the clones would fair here without the Jedi to keep an eye on them.

So far the indigenous Felucians and the wildlife left them alone, giving them a wide berth as far as he could tell. However his own troops would have to be the true barometer of local 'intentions.' It would of course be foolish of them to take action with Jedi present. However the company of clones setting up the base camp or the force scouting the area would make tempting targets… if the locals were hostile.

"Maybe one day when I stop working. The job's keeping me busy enough as it is." Vala shrugged, turning periodically as they walked, out of habit, covering their rear. "I haven't been to the Temple in years… a decade almost."

 _And it's opened my eyes. To everything._

"It's strange though, I feel the flora and the fauna, but not the locals," Vala commented as they walked.

"Maybe they didn't notice us?" Stick chimed in.

Vala inclined her head left to right, "hard not to notice off-worlders when they come to your planet and fight. Especially with General Secura's more or less continuous presence here."

"They're staying away from the area for a reason then…" came a soft comment from Burner.

"The question is are they staying away from us or from whatever happened to your base," Krell added, his eyes focusing off to the group's right. He wasn't sure but somehow he also knew there was something there.

"It's a Republic base, Master Krell," Vala quietly commented, curious as to why he made such a distinction. She noticed on the periphery of her senses however, his tension. "Weapons ready boys." She issued quietly, "Master Krell has a point. Whatever's made them go dark is probably still out there. Do not fire unless attacked though."

She could hear the telltale whirs and clicks of pistols and blaster rifle's charging, a quiet way of confirming they had listened to her orders. The problem was, was it the wildlife? The locals? Or Separatist Forces? There _had_ been rumours of them building a base on the planet, part of the reason why Republic Intelligence wanted to listen in and observe.

"Stick, send the signal. Let's see if anyone notices." Vala took out her blaster, charging its cell as well.

Stick merely nodded, not really visible to Valanthe. He tapped a set of command on his wrist com, then pressed his gloved hand against the side of his camouflage patterned helmet, as if to boost reception.

 _The signal_ was a measure of contact unlikely to be picked up by the enemy forces, a variant of what the Mandalorians used in the old days. Valanthe had learned it during the several missions she worked with Julius Tal, a method called the da-dita. The two used it to communicate with each other during their missions and when they needed to meet in the later years to relay information.

Riis had adapted it later, when she decided to accept Master Yoda's offer and train Clone Intelligence troopers, for use within the team and between the men she trained. It was an intermittent low band frequency static. It had a specified set of pulses and streams that could easily get lost in the background noise.

So that was what Stick did. He opened a channel and set it to transmit on a loop. If any of the vode were still alive and had any sort of communication left, they'd hear it. The techie just hoped at least someone was still alive. This silence was unnerving him, to say the least. Not that he'd ever voice it, of course.

"Signal sent, Commander," He said finally, setting his hand down and readjusting his grip on his rifle.

"Now, we wait and hope our boys sift through it." The Mirialan sighed as they walked, a heavy feeling in her stomach growing heavier.

"Let's hope they're still alive to do it."

She could feel Burner's mutter as much as she heard it. For all the talk of how replaceable they were, deep down, Valanthe knew they all wanted to live just as much as the next person. Necessity and life on Kamino forced them to hide that fact deep within themselves. He did keep it hidden, most of the time, but over the last few months they worked together he'd learned, she knew that he could keep very little hidden from her, so he didn't try as much around her. This in turn made him more relaxed, a stark comparison to the steely young man she met in Tipoca.

Another kilometer passed, the tension in the small group growing. The signal was still transmitting with no answer, the wildlife having taken notice of them, moving in the shadows along with them. Even Valanthe could feel their presence now. It just made her already sickening feeling worse. For all the life around them, the silence was deafening.

Were they dead? Or worse, captured? Did she fail them? In her blind focusing on _her_ missions, did she fail to look after the men she trained? What did that say about her?

 _Blind, like the Jedi._ A concept she thought she'd left when she left the Jedi.

Her hands tightened around her blaster pistol almost painfully as she forced herself to pull out of that line of thinking. Now was not the time to guilt herself.

 _The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence._ Something her old Master, Tera Sinube used to drill into her during training, quoting wise words of the ancients. It was a way to tell her to calm down, open herself to the Force and really look. A way to tell her not to panic.

"Click and a half," Burner announced.

This snapped her back to the there and then. Inhaling deeply and letting out a deep breath, Valanthe nodded silently, refocusing to the task at hand.

"And still no reply, curious," Krell mused as he stroked his chin, a single one of his dual sabers slipping into his hand. It was becoming clear that this group of clones had failed in their mission. Presumably they had suffered the same fate as the first intelligence unit. "It's looking more and more likely that we will have to complete their mission."

"Come on guys...where are you?" Vala muttered underbreath, trying to filter out the familiar presences of Pel, Aster and Torn, having been with them far more recently than with Blackie, Len and Vas. In fact it had been months…

 _Spirits, I can't feel any of them…._ Her heart tightened in her chest, the prospect of having lost six of her team almost overpowering.

"Stick, anything?"

"Negative, Commander."

Another half a click, silence on the comm channels. The weird thing was, the planet was so alive, she could barely distinguish their own signatures among everything, let alone any other intelligent life, like say, the local Felucians. Or, Spirits forbid, the Separatists. But either way, they'd been noticed, that much she could tell.

"We're being followed…" Vala fought the urge to draw her own saber.

"I'm reading an increase in lifeforms, but I can't pick it apart, there's so much of it and nothing is metal…" Stick cursed, looking down at his scanner.

"Something's coming, Krell, can you feel it?" Valanthe was on edge now, her senses buzzing, her body echoing with frustration at not being able to identify what was happening.

"Hmm yes...possibly several…." Krell had fully turned to his right now, eyes rapidly searching the dense Felucian foliage. He couldn't see anything, not with the Force or with his eyes, but still he was sure.

There it was, in the dense foliage to the left of them, a stretch of it, mostly even, with no giant mushroom-like plants.

"Burner, on my ten, there's no wind but the foliage is moving." Valanthe whispered, taking a back step, getting closer to the group.

Stick turned beside her slowly, raising his rifle. He lowered his night vision scope, trying to see if it would pick anything up. "Gah, no use, it's _all_ alive." He cursed quietly.

"Stick, hold up…" Burner had his own night vision scope down, "look at the movement pattern, it's a diversion tactic."

At that moment Riis could feel two stronger Force signatures and one slightly dimmed one circle around behind them, with only Krell facing towards them.

"They snuck up behind us," Vala whispered again, her muscles coiling to act.

"That will not help them," Krell stated, his four arms tensing as he ignited his two double-bladed lightsabers, the blue and green blades humming over the light breeze that had built up around the small group. "Let them meet their fate."

"Flank the General…" Vala murmured, calling upon the Force, shimmering out of view moments later.

Stick and Burner each took position on one of the Besalisk's sides, covering his flanks just in case. Valanthe snuck off to the side, slowly, quietly making her way over to the dimmed Force signature. She was going on the assumption that dimmed could possibly mean injured. Not that she could really tell, considering she couldn't even tell what it was that surrounded them, with so much _interference_ as there was.

Slowly she advanced on her prey, she could feel the other two making their way closer to Krell and the boys. Valanthe could make a humanoid form in front of her, wearing what she could best describe as scraps, their head was covered, and they were wielding an older Republic sniper model.

The Mirialan could also tell the person was a man, by their build, but before she could do more, she heard Burner's voice call out.

"Whoever you are, stand down!"

The sniper man adjusted into a firing position. She took this que and stepped forward, her own blaster in hand and pressed it to the man's back and spoke with as much ice as she could muster.

"Do not make a sound."


	14. Chapter 14: Bungle In The Jungle, Part 1

_**Previously:**_

 _The sniper man adjusted into a firing position. She took this que and stepped forward, her own blaster in hand and pressed it to the man's back and spoke with as much ice as she could muster._

" _Do not make a sound."_

* * *

The man stiffened visibly and raised his hands slowly, almost with difficulty. He inclined his head slightly to the right, as if trying to look at her, face hidden by a cover too.

"Take your mask off," Valanthe instructed next, keeping her pistol trained at the bigger target, his body rather than his head.

Shock came as he did so slowly, revealing a familiar face. He seemed pale, the night making him look like a spectre, ironically.

"Pel?"

Valanthe lowered her pistol and stepped over to him, "what happened? You're injured." She could feel it now, his pain, now that she was closer to him, focused.

Before she could do more or he could answer they heard another familiar voice yelling;

"Hey! What the kriff are you doing?! Get your paws off of me, shabuir!"

A small nod from Pel was all that was needed for Vala to rush through the bushes to where she'd left the others. She hadn't bothered to recloak, it didn't matter at that point, for her cloak would have dropped anyway moments later as she took in the sight in front of her.

Standing at his full height, arm extended Krell had one of the 'attackers' held by his ankle, dangling upside down. The man was struggling against the Besalisk's iron grip, his arms searching wildly for something to hold onto. Turning slightly as Valanthe came out of the brush, Krell fixed her with a look, his eyes shifting between her and his 'captive.'

"Does this belong to you?"

Burner had his rifle trained at the third _attacker_ whom she assumed was Torn. Stick, for all that he was wearing a helmet looked lost between wanting to help his brother and being shocked at the General's behavior.

Valanthe on the other hand stood there, gaping, the tone of her skin turning a dark shade of brown as she processed just exactly what he'd said.

"Krell, put _him_ down! It's one of my missing men!" she called out, her stance authoritative, quite ready to have at the gigantic Jedi Master. This in itself looked quite disproportionate considering how short Valanthe was compared to the troopers alone, let alone to the Besalisk himself.

"Put him down." She said again. _He called him an THIS? Really, Krell?_

"Commander? Stang! You took your time getting here!" The upside down man, whom she was now certain was the quite mouthy Aster, struggled in vain in his awkward position.

Valanthe cringed inwardly. _Stang, Aster, you're not helping yourself._

Using one of his free hands to gram the clone by the collar, Krell flipped the clone over, depositing him on the ground feet first. "Your attack was sloppy, unfocused," Krell said dusting his hands off as he turned fully toward Valanthe. "So is this your first or second lost team?"

"Pel, Aster and Torn, Felucia II." Valanthe stepped over to Aster, "you owe Jedi General, Master Pong Krell an apology, Aster." She glanced to her side briefly, seeing Stick run off to assist Pel who had trouble walking as he exited his cover. Burner was apologizing to Torn.

Aster ground his teeth together as he snapped to attention, "Sergeant Aster, sir. I apologize for cursing you out, sir. Things have gone down the Sarlacc pit here, sir."

"Noted, Sergeant and accepted, provided you have a more in depth report of the situation beyond _down a Sarlacc pit_." Krell's top set of arms crossed sternly across his broad chest, giving the towering Besalisk an unyielding and more intimidating visage than before.

Aster's jaw flexed again, but he nodded.

"Let's start from the beginning. Why are you here and not in the outpost, and where's Felucia I?" Valanthe asked from where she crouched next to a now sitting Pel and Torn who was checking his injuries.

"The outpost has been stripped of any data that may or may not have been there from what we could tell," said Aster, looking over at Burner then at Vala. "We found signs of battle and a struggle when we arrived."

"And Blackie, Len and Vas? Any sign of them?" Burner's voice was stone cold, as it always got when he was having trouble keeping his composure.

Aster sighed, shaking his head, "we found pieces of armour, we found blood, but no bodies."

Stick, his helmet now off and under his arm, "any thoughts on whom?"

"There _was_ some debris left, droid parts. B1 battle droids. Working theory is either they got spotted on a patrol by Seppies, or the Seppies spotted the outpost and attacked them." Pel spoke up with some difficulty.

Burner nodded, "so they were in the outpost when you arrived?"

Torn spoke next, his tone soft and quiet as usual, "no, sir. We found it empty. We couldn't be sure if they were coming back or if they just left it, you know how dumb they can get. Well how dumb they are."

"So... _who_...attacked you?" Valanthe's brow was furrowed as she tried to process the information.

"That's just it, we don't know. They're not droids, not even Commando droids...they come at night. Vicious, smart creatures. Real hunters," Pel grumbled, "they got me good, broke several ribs, puncture wound. Thank the stars that we had Torn with us."

"We've been moving since the first night, to try to keep them off of our tail till help arrived." Aster sighed. "They trashed our comms and the base's comms too so we couldn't call for help. You noticing we're overdue was our only hope."

"The locals perhaps?" Krell mused a third arm stroking his goatee. "We know they are primitive and don't use energy weapons. Up to now they've mostly avoided our forces…"

"So why start attacking them now?" Valanthe looked up from where she was, placing a gentle hand on Pel's shoulder and squeezing before stepping over to Krell. "Besides, the boys adapt quickly, they'd have been able to hold fort at the outpost."

She saw Burner nod as he stepped over to them. His Force signature echoed certainty and no small amount of pride and self assurance in their abilities and training.

"The Commander's right," he said, adjusting his grip on his rifle. "We should still go to the outpost. If it's been stripped of data, they may come back for salvage or, kriff, even research. We need to scuttle it."

Valanthe nodded, "agreed, worth a look to also check if maybe any of the security system backups are still functioning, we may have caught our mystery hunters."

Burner nodded, "ma'am, are we going after Felucia I?"

She suddenly felt a collective, subconscious holding of breaths from the five clones. It was quite obvious her answer mattered to them a lot. This left her in a conundrum. While on one hand she wanted to say yes very badly, on the other, if the enemy force was overwhelming, there was no way they could rescue them, provided they were still alive, even with two Force users with them.

"We will go, Burner, if we manage to ascertain where they are and if we're not outnumbered. We can only do so much with seven of us plus one wounded. Not even general Krell's jungle commandos would help us against numbers," she said kindly, trying to cover both fields of thought.

The general consensus was one of bitter acceptance, among the vode. Valanthe wished she could give them a better answer. She _wanted_ to give them a better answer.

"Pel, do you need help or can you walk?"

Her answer was a painful grunt as she turned towards him. "I'm fine, Commander."

"Aster, help him. Torn, keep an eye on him, but I'll need you ready in case we get in trouble. Stick, cut the Signal. If they could have heard it by now we'd have known. I'll need you to mine the outpost just in case something was missed. Alright lads, get ready to go." Valanthe issued orders, then motioned Burner and Krell aside.

As they gathered with her, she spoke in a quiet tone, "whoever's been keeping pace with us so far will continue to do so, especially now that they know our plan. Be ready for an attack."

Burner nodded.

Krell nodded as well, and he could still feel something out in the dense jungle; the Commander was right about the possibility of an attack. Taking a moment he signaled his troops defending the base camp to prepare for an attack.

"Alright, let's go." The Mirialan made a motion that signalled the small group to move ahead. They weren't too far off now.

Burner joined Stick taking the rear this time, while the two Force wielders took up the front, while the wounded Pel, Aster, and Torn took the middle. It took them another hour, slowed down by the wounded. As they neared the exit of the jungle, Vala raised her fist up at the elbow, calling for a stop.

"Stay here, I'll scout ahead," she said, nodding towards an opening in the mountain side about five hundred meters in front of them. If one didn't know what they were looking for, it would pass as a cave easily.

Normally, however, it would be covered, made to look like growth on a stone, rather than being so invitingly open.

"Perhaps it would be better if the clones scouted ahead, that way we can easier respond to any developing situations," Krell suggested as he looked down over the terrain before them.

She turned her head towards him slowly, her expression as neutral as she could make it. "General, with respect, it sounds like you're suggesting we use them as bait." Her words were however clipped. "I can pass the length unseen, literally, without tipping our hand."

She almost continued with; _it would be foolish to send anyone else. There is no need to get anyone else hurt._

"If you feel it is worth the risk then I won't stop you Commander," Krell replied gruffly. "I was merely suggesting that we would be far more capable of pulling the scouts out of an ambush than they could you. The Force is a powerful ally after all and a multiplier on the battlefield."

She could feel the ire of the clones building behind them.

"Except, if they can't see me, they can't ambush me," Valanthe clipped back. "Alright everyone, stay low and be ready. I'll be back quickly."

That said, she closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath and called upon the Force once again. She shimmered out of sight and stepped into the more or less unobstructed path towards the outpost.

She kept her eyes on the path, looking for signs to its sides. If there had been a struggle, clues could have been left on the outside as well. Provided, of course that the attackers came the way she did. There was no way to know that really.

The surrounding brushes looked like they'd seen better days. She could see small scraps of fabric, chips of armour, various other debris she'd need time to analyze before she could identify them. A B1 droids head, another, a mangled torso, a weirdly mangled leg. More odd debris. The ground looked as if something as dragged along it.

The Mirialan kneeled next to a strange footprint. It wasn't human, nor was it droid. It had the vague shape of a human leg, except either three large toes, or claw-like protrusions.

From briefings and reports, she knew that the locals on Felucia had large, roundish appendages that didn't seem to have what most humanoids would call a foot. This footprint definitely wasn't Felucian.

Deciding to move on, she looked ahead into the dark opening. Even to her, it looked spooky. Taking another deep breath, keeping herself cloaked from sight with the Force, she stepped inside. She could not feel anything alive in there, but she could feel something on the very edge of her senses. Something calling to her.

Before venturing further, she decided to return to the group so that they could make their way inside together. It took her less time to return to them as she didn't spend as much time looking for clues.

Once behind the cover they'd chosen, she shimmered back into view, breathing deeply, a slight sheen of sweat on her temples.

"There's nothing alive in there, that much I could tell. But I found debris, mangled droids. In a strange way that doesn't seem consistent with the way our troops fight, nor theirs," She said after a moment.

"Locals maybe?" Burner wondered.

Vala shook her head, "I don't think so, I found a footprint that's not local, nor one of ours or Seppie."

"Interesting, there aren't many external forces who want to get entangled with either side, and the ones that would, well simply put wouldn't care about a small group of clones or battle droids. A wild animal or pack of animals perhaps?" Krell offered.

Vala shook her head, "it had a vaguely humanoid shape, except it has three large fingers or claws, talons maybe, I can't be sure without a scan."

"That's not good," Stick squeezed the grip of his rifle tighter.

Burner did the same as he prepared to move. "Alright, we're ready to move on your word, Commander."

Vala nodded, looking over at Krell. "Ready?"

"Yes," Krell said with a gruff nod, drawing his lightsabers as they prepared to advance on the base.

Vala stood, readying her pistol again, and motioned for them to move. A staggered formation, Burner and Stick moving up in front with Vala right behind them, Torn, Aster and Pel in the middle, the rear brought up by Krell.

A small part of Vala that wasn't watching their surroundings couldn't help a small feeling of pride at how quickly and efficiently the boys moved, keeping watch, keeping alert, even Aster and Pel who were more busy with each other.

Burner called for a stop at the entrance to the cave, he and Stick on either side of the entry, turning the torches on their helmets on. Burner counted off on his fingers before they entered, one covering high, one covering low. Valanthe entered next, opening her senses again. There was something down in the bowels of the base, in the main control room. Something faint, but present.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

She could hear them calling out as they checked each room. Valanthe pressed her palm to the stone wall and closed her eyes, feeling.

The facility was built into the rockface, using up the space as best as they could without changing the natural structure too much, mostly to avoid detection, so all of the ceilings and a lot of the walls were natural rockface, rather than artificial walls.

"Commander, we've cleared the facility. You were right, there's no one here." She could hear Burner in the back of her mind.

"Krell, do you feel that?" Valanthe however didn't answer him, her eyes set upon a point far away rather than in the present time and space, a slight silverish glow to them.

Nodding as his gaze followed Valanthe's, there was definitely something else going on here. He could feel it, like something hanging just at the corner of your vision and if one were to move their eyes to look, it would be gone.

"Down in the control room," she murmured then realized that Burner was still standing there, a confused look on his face now that his helmet was off.

"Commander?" He asked, part of him curious what kind of Jedi thing they were up to now, a part of him mildly taken aback by his Commander not acknowledging him immediately.

Valanthe had the good grace to look apologetic. "Burner, I'm sorry, I… I'm sorry I should have answered you immediately." How could she explain to him what she sensed? Would he understand? Would he even believe her?

"It's alright, Commander. The facility is clear and secured. What are your orders?" He asked.

"Plug Stick in, mine the database, see if we can get anything from the security feeds. You and Aster rig detonite charges, set them on a delayed blast countdown. Once we have what we need, if we find anything we'll scuttle it," Valanthe said.

"Commander," Stick spoke up as he rejoined them in the main room that lead to the exit, "I found blood and organic residue on the floor and along the walls. Someone either died or was severely injured in there."

Vala nodded, sighing, "alright. Master Krell and I will check it out, Burner has your orders."

"Yes, Ma'am." Stick nodded and stepped over to the other man.

"Shall we see if we can find whatever it is down there?" The Mirialan looked over at the Besalisk.

"If you're done here," Krell said more than asked, beginning to walk down the dark corridor at an even pace. "Unless you'd rather continue to coddle your men."

"You're the Jedi, I thought that was your job," Valanthe muttered through a sigh, as she started after him. "I'm just being polite."

The descent through the darkened corridors down to the bowels was disconcerting to say the least. The fluorescent fungi, and one of the torches the men had detached from their rifles and left to light the path, made it seem like a maze in one of those children's stories she used to hear about at the Temple when the youngling clans attempted to have fun.

Ghost stories, they called them.

 _With what we're sensing, we may as well be living a ghost story here and now._

She could feel pressure between her eyes, at the center of her forehead too. Valanthe pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled, her lilac eyes glancing along the walls.

 _Blood._

As they entered the room she felt a tightening in her chest.

Looking around the room it was clear there had been quite a struggle here, quick and savage...it may not have started out that way but by the end it had been a desperate fight for survival, brute force against brute force. Krell had seen it before, many times in fact, there was something eerily familiar about the way things had fallen.

Vala's vision swam a little. She could hear a high pitched sound in the back of her head and an all too familiar piercing in her temples, the tell tale signs of a Force induced migraine. Except, no vision came this time. They usually accompanied the migraines.

"Echoes in the Force," Vala realized. "Blonde hair, heterochromia - one blue eye one brown, scar across his cheek...oh Blackie. Fighting...a…" her brow furrowed as she tried to make out what she was feeling, "a scaly beast?"

"With sharp claws...hissing..tall and strong…" Krell added the blurred shapes seen through the Force becoming clearer.

Her hand went over her mouth, a sickening feeling rising in her stomach, "Spirits, it tore him apart...literally. I can practically feel it." The hand transitioned to the wall for support. "The moment repeats itself, almost as if frozen in time."

Valanthe took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "That's one...where are the other two. What happened to them?"

 _I failed them. Spirits, I failed them. I didn't check in on them in time…_ she clamped down a feeling of guilt and panic quickly. They had a job to do and that beast, probably more of them were still out there, maybe even with the two missing men.

"The others did not die here, this was isolated, the beasts were organized…" Krell said, turning to look around the room again, lightsaber in hand. He may have no special love for clones, but an enemy that could successfully take on a Republic base wasn't to be underestimated.

"An attempt to trap it maybe, would explain why they didn't actually move in. Tight corners, our boys could control the fight, out there…" Vala looked up as Burner stepped down, his hands filled with detonite charges.

"We've rigged upstairs. Just this room left. Stick wasn't able to find anything with the data mine. System's blank. Good thing is, it appears that it was our guys that set up the self wipe trojan. But we can't be sure the Seppies didn't actually take anything," Burner said looking at his distraught Commander. "What's happened?" His tone softened up a little almost as if forgetting Krell was in the room.

Vala shook her head, "Blackie's dead. I'll explain later," she said putting up a finger to stop him from asking questions. "We scuttle first then I'll explain."

"Yes, ma'am."

She stepped past him, needing to get away from the assaulting images. Places of sudden, violent deaths left imprints in the Force such as this one. She passed by Aster in the dim hallway, then by Stick in the entry room. Could she tell them? Describe in vivid detail the visceral truth of what happened to their vod? Maybe even to the others as well? Should she inflict this on them?

The green skinned woman needed to clear her head, to focus on something other than the slowly but steadily rising guilt.

"How's he doing?" Vala stepped over to Pel who looked more like the stone that surrounded them than a tanned man he'd been before.

Torn kept his concern off of his face well, but she could still feel it. "We need to get out of this place soon, Commander. He's okay for now, but I don't know how long I can keep him going." His face softened as Pel's soft snore let them know he was still alive, just succumbed to his exhausted body.

Riis nodded, "we should be done soon. They're rigging the last room. I'm going to keep watch outside. Let me know when everything's done."

"Yes, Commander." Torn nodded, watching after her as she disappeared from his sight, literally. _Who's looking after_ _ **you**_ _, Commander?_

Vala climbed onto the rockface above, still hidden from sight by the Force, crouching on the part that overlooked the entrance. Breathing deeply, she tried to release her feelings into the Force, let it take them away, let her focus on what she _could_ do in this time and place. A silent, invisible tear streaked down her cheek before she rubbed it away, letting out a deep, hopefully calming breath.

Blackie was dead, Vas and Len were still missing. In her semi meditative state, she could let her mind focus on the clues. The footprint, the marks on the walls. Tall, scaly, hissing hunters who had sharp claws and were organized.

 _Wookies?_ She considered silently as she observed their strange surroundings, _no, fur instead of scales and they don't have obvious claws. Who else do we know? Vornskr? No...also furry, not humanoid._

Then she heard it. Movement in the brush surrounding the upcoming path and around the base's roof. There also seemed to be deep growling-trilling sounds. Quickly, she moved from her spot and slipped back into the base.

Decloaking, she kneeled next to Torn, "wake him up and get him ready to move, we have company."

Stick had just finished packing his gear, "Seppies or our mysterious attackers?"

"Your attackers. I think I know who they are, it didn't click until I heard them." Vala said as she passed by him and into the base. "Rig the detonators, we need to go, we're about to have company. There's lots of them."

"Commander?" Aster turned to her, helmeted head bobbing to the right a bit in question.

"Trandoshans."

" _TRANDOSHANS HAVE ENTERED THE BASE!"_

* * *

 _ **Finale In Part 2**_


	15. Chapter 15: Bungle In The Jungle, Part 2

_**Previously:**_

" _TRANDOSHANS HAVE ENTERED THE BASE!"_

* * *

Swinging his lightsabers in a wide arc Krell cut through one of the towering lizards that was foolish enough to get within arms reach of the Jedi. The attack had come without warning, even Krell wasn't sure how they got into the base. One minute he and the clones were searching for files and the next they were there. It was hard to get an accurate count of the number attacking their small group but it seemed like quite a few, at least a dozen in his area of the base alone.

"CLONES! FALL BACK TO THE ENTRANCE!" He bellowed, slowly making his way out of the base's control room, keeping the remaining Trandoshans at bay. Their attack on him was foolish in these tight quarters, but with numbers even he could be overrun. This base was lost and the team would need to be whole to get out of here.

Burner was trying to keep pace with the General, managing to get a shot in here and there, but with tight quarters it was extremely difficult, what with the General's lightsabers swinging in a wide arc, what with fear of accidentally shooting him, the Commander or his vode.

Vala had only gotten a step or two into the lower level when she heard the call and saw the two advancing. "Stick, start the countdown!" She called, holstering her blaster and taking her lightsaber out, out of similar fears as Burner.

She tapped Aster on the shoulder, "Cover Torn and Pel, I'll try to punch through."

When not in combat, the ordnance specialist was quite vocal, however when combat came, he was sharp, focused and almost too quiet. He nodded, taking his place in front of Torn who was helping the increasingly paler Pel up, while Stick offered cover shots to Krell and Burner.

Igniting her green lightsaber, Vala headed outside. There were three large, scaly, well equipped Trandoshans advancing on their position from the front entrance. The Mirialan drew upon the Force and shoved her arms outward, the ripple effect of which pushed at the hunters in a one hundred and eighty degrees arc. They fell backward, Valanthe using this to advance on them.

She slashed at one with relative ease, the other two recovering more quickly, firing their blasters at her. A shot zinged past her shoulder from above. Another from the side.

"Thirty seconds!" She could hear a bellow from inside which was carried forward by Aster.

"Time to leave Lieutenant!" Krell had taken down another two lizards but more were still coming. And with the charges counting down they needed to get out of there soon. Spinning his lightsabers rapidly at the lead Trandoshan making the heavily armed man stagger backward to keep from being eviscerated gave Krell his opening.

Bounding forward into the formation, he lashed out with his large and powerful leg, striking the leader in his chest plate. Adding a bit of Force power behind the kick it sent the leader toppling into his men. Not waiting to give any commands, Krell turned, taking advantage of the break in fighting to make his way to the entrance.

Burner fired off a few covering shots, darting after the Besalisk. As Krell passed by Stick, Burner following a few steps behind, the Lieutenant clapped the techie on the shoulder, signalling he too should move. Stick followed suit.

Riis had managed to take the other two down with some difficulty, having had to dodge the side shots from the surrounding brush and powerful blows from vibro swords of the two large males. These were not droids, not by far, these creatures were smart.

Aster was doing his best trying to cover the two clones, which were practically combat ineffective at that moment while also trying to locate where the extremely powerful shots were coming from. It wasn't a regular blaster rifle, his HUD filtered out sounds pretty accurately. It was a bowcaster. A hunter's weapon. One from a hunter who knew their surroundings, how to stay hidden. The best the clone could do was keep him distracted, dodging fire himself to keep his aim off.

"Besh leader, this is Cassandra. Immediate dustoff, hostiles have engaged at Charsha, heavy opposition. Will need pickup as close as you can get," she called into her wrist communicator as Aster and the duo hobbled past her.

" _Copy that Cassandra, Gunships in the air, five minutes out."_

As if to cap off the urgency of the situation the timer on the explosive charges slipped to zero and a rapid beeping took its place, the last and only indication of what was coming. A moment later the first charge went off, the loud fiery explosion obliterating the command center the team had been occupying only minutes before. The second and third charges quickly followed the intense shockwaves could now be felt throughout the facility. Exiting the base with the Clones not far behind Krell, could hear their pursuers cries as they were caught in the facility as it was being torn apart.

The ground shook with the effects of the blast, knocking the wounded Pel to his knees, effectively dragging Torn right along. Aster crouched next to them, laying down cover fire as Krell, Burner and Stick reached them. Valanthe bent backward in an unnatural position as a blast zinged past her chest, and fell to the ground because of the shakes. She quickly rolled out of the way and seemingly disappeared.

Burner, having gotten back on his feet as he stumbled, training his rifle at the surrounding shooters, bellowed, "squad, move! Move! Move!"

The crippled squad moved as best they could, while their Commander dashed forward in an attempt to clear them a path. Her green saber could be seen dancing in the half shadows of the dying day, taking out yet another hunter a hundred or so metres in front of them. There were still more coming.

"Besh leader, this is Cresh Leader, I need an LZ!" Burner tapped the side of his helmet as if to amplify transmission.

" _That explosion threw up a lot of dust and debris Cresh, closest landing zone from your location is half a klick to your south. Can provide limited air support for your journey but the canopy is too thick to break through near your position."_

"Kriffin' hells! We're getting herded into a slaughter here, Besh! You better be at the LZ!" Burner cursed, cutting off communication. "Commander! Half a click to the south is the closest they can get!"

Valanthe cursed thickly, deflecting yet another blast and beginning to withdraw towards the others. "Krell, one of us needs to take point, one the rear!"

"You and the Clones retreat I will hold here and catch up," Krell called back not taking his eyes off a new pack of pursuers. Now out in the open the Besalisk would have the advantage, his agility and speed far out matching the Trandoshan hunters.

"Alright, good luck!" Valanthe nodded solemnly, fully aware that this may be the last time they all saw each other. "Alright guys, follow me and be as fast as you can be!"

Turning from the retreating clones a wide grin appeared on Krell's face. "YOU DARE ATTACK A JEDI!?" He yelled at the advancing Trandoshan, spinning his lightsabers as he dropped into a traditional fighting stance. "I WILL SHOW YOU THE FOLLY OF YOUR ACTIONS!"

Letting out a loud battle cry, Krell charged into the advancing hunters, his lightsabers humming ominously over the battlefield. Picking up more speed and spinning his unique double-bladed sabers faster and faster, the Besalisk plowed into the first two impaling the first and cutting down the second with ease. Laughing as he turned, Krell picked his next target and began chasing after him, jumping into the trees, using the dense foliage to his advantage.

* * *

The group was now even more slowed down, Torn for all his physical prowess, a trait shared among them, was getting tired holding Pel up and supporting him while having to run and defend them as well. Stick stepped in on the other side, helping Torn support him, leaving Aster and Burner to cover their rear.

There were two Trandoshans in front, behind a mushroom like cover, their rifles trained at them. They could mow the group down easily before they could do anything about it. Valanthe charged, using the Force to increase her speed, and jumped, twisting through the air, her saber creating a lightshow. As she landed, the Mirialan slammed her fist into the ground, causing the two to jump as if pushed away by the jolt, weapons flying aside. She swung her saber at the right one, effortlessly decapitating him. The other one however had managed to grab at her chest, leaving a big claw mark, blood appearing from the gash. Valanthe yelled out with shock then pushed out with the Force, knocking the Trandoshan into the mushroom-like cover, before pulling him to her, still grasping him through the Force. She extended her other hand that held the saber in front of her and effectively impaled the beast on it. As she shut off her lightsaber, the alien toppled to the ground.

A shot from the bushes caught the edge of her right shoulder from behind, and sent her toppling to the ground momentarily. She rolled aside quickly, behind the nearest cover, hearing an enraged Burner open up a quick succession of shots in the direction of her attacker.

He must have gotten him because she could see no more incoming shots from that direction. In fact, the firing seemed to have stopped. Vala reached through the Force towards her lightsaber with some difficulty, due to her injured shoulder. She could feel the Trandoshans still around them, but they stopped firing.

Burner's gauntleted hand reached out then stopped short of her shoulder. She could feel more than see his concern. "I'm fine! I'm fine! How much further? We need to move."

Burner pointed, "through that thicket, the LZ should be behind that."

Reigniting her lightsaber, Vala nodded and darted in the indicated direction.

* * *

Using some low slung branches, Krell propelled himself up into the lower canopy looking down at the Hunters, disorganized and cowering since his initial attack. He could see their leaders trying to reorganize and could only laugh at their incompetence. No command presence, no discipline; it was almost embarrassing to beat them...almost. Clearing his throat, Krell enhanced his voice using the Force, allowing it to echo over the area.

"This is it!? This is the best you could muster!?" He made the first move, jumping from tree to tree getting close to an isolated cluster of Trandoshans. "I'm surprised you could even take down one Clone Trooper." Another jump and he was over head, ready to land descend upon them.

"You're weak!" He cried, jumping down from the tree limb, landing perfectly in the center of the group, channeling the Force into a shockwave that would send the hunters off their feet. His strikes were efficient, quick, some would say brutal; but these Trandoshans needed to learn not to target the Republic, and the Jedi again.

Sensing another group to his right, Krell went running, slamming into them. Smashing the first directly into the tree, he could hear the snap and could see the others hesitate...that was all he needed. The second and third in their group were quickly cut down as the fourth tried to run. Krell decided to assist him in that venture, sending a force wave after the hunter, the energy sending him flying through the foliage. Watching as he went flying out of control, Krell grinned once more as the body came to a skidding halt at the feet of a giant Hunter, with a pair of phirk laden blades.

"Finally, someone worthy," Krell said staring down the hunter in front of him. "The Jedi thing to do would be to ask you to surrender." He of course had no intention of doing so, this fight wouldn't be won by standard mercy. Nor did he expect the Trandoshan would accept.

" _Sham ba lu mi lowe." (_ _I will never give up!)_

"I thought as much," Krell sighed, spinning his lightsabers into a fighting stance, the hunter doing the same. Staring each other down the two warriors tried to get a handle on the other, find a weakness, waiting for a mistake. Finding what he was looking for, the Trandoshan cried out charging at Krell. Shifting his stance Krell moved forward himself bring his sabers down, the Trandoshan's coming up to block, the impact sending a shower of sparks flying in all directions, the force of the blow sending both men skidding backwards through the dirt.

* * *

Valanthe was beginning to think they had a stroke of luck, when she saw strange shapes in the distance ahead of them, seemingly hanging from the trees. She neared the site, and almost stumbled too a stop.

Bodies, two of them. One was hanging upside down from the tree, the other was slung over a long branch below. The upside down one was dripping with blood, its skin more or less in shreds. She couldn't see nor sense anyone there, so she dared to approach, needing to see who they were. The other body seemed crushed and mangled.

Reaching over, she turned the upside down body around so that she could see it's face. Valanthe nearly fell over from shock. The face, despite the injuries was known to her.

"Commander, why'd you…" she could vaguely hear Burner in the back of her mind, heavy footsteps following, "oh skray…"

Reaching towards the other body, Valanthe cried out in shock. Her gut wrenching, one hand clasped over her mouth, the woman fought down the gag reflex. She had failed them, in the worst possible way.

"Kriffin' hells!" Torn was looking at the bodies now. "Those kriffin' beasts did this. They killed all three of them."

"Stang!" Aster cursed, checking their surroundings. "Len and Vas?"

"I'm afraid so," Burner's voice was stone cold, once she shook herself out of the shock, Valanthe could feel her first-in-command's withdrawn state.

Her senses picked the Trandoshans up again, "there's nothing we can do for them, we need to break through to the LZ, we need to do it now!" It hurt her physically to leave them there in that shameful, embarrassing state, but she knew, as they all did, that they may very well end up joining them if they didn't move.

"The Commander's right, move it, troopers!" Burner growled.

"Krell, what's your status?" Valanthe spoke into her wrist com.

* * *

Krell heard the call but ignored it for the moment, advancing on the hunter before him. The Trandoshan had put up a good fight, even managing to wound Krell a couple of times. However in the end it wasn't enough, the Hunter obviously wasn't used to his prey being able to fight back. Stalking over behind the large Trandoshan, the last following the group for the time being, the other hunters having retreated during the fight.

" _Julamba, julamba! Sham lowe mi!" (No, no! I give up!)_ He cried out as Krell turned him over with his foot, holding one of his lightsaber down on him.

"Give up? I thought that was something you would never do. Why not die with some shred of honor?" Krell asked, kicking one of the cortosis swords over. He didn't have to wait long, the Trandoshan while unskilled was not stupid, he was dead either way. Taking up his blade, the lizard attempted one last strike, easily deflected by Krell, leading into the final death blow. As the Hunter died, Krell looked down upon him answering his communicator. "Situation is under control for now, the hunters have been pushed back but they will return quickly with more numbers."

Looking at the lifeless body for a few moments longer, the Besalisk contemplated all he had felt during and after the fight. While he couldn't do it all now, Pong Krell had much to think about. "I am returning to you."

* * *

Valanthe cut at the bush and vines with her saber, keeping the swings and arcs fast, to reduce the chance of being hit while distracted, Stick and Torn half-dragged-half-carried Pel behind her, Aster and Burner holding the rear.

"Understood, we just entering the clearing now." Vala replied briefly.

"Alright stay low and stick to covers, the larty isn't here yet and I'm pretty sure it's been five minutes," her voice held an edge, holding her emotions in check as much as it was humanly possible.

Without feeling for it, she knew the men were doing more or less the same, compartmentalizing. The aftermath of this clusterfierfek would be a brutal one though. Nightmares of their fellow soldiers brutalized and put on display like that.

The Trandoshans seemed to be regrouping however, probably for one last big attack at their quarry.

"I have eyes on them, edge of the wood, to our left!"

"Eyes on the right too!"

"Stang! On my side too!"

"We're finished! Leave me, I'll distract them, you make a run for it!"

"We are not leaving you, vod!"

The Trandoshans advanced, like predators, keeping low, murmuring among themselves, surrounding the group.

The small group formed a circular position, Pel set down in the middle, as the others covered what sides they could, readying themselves for the final stand.

Krell saw the line encircling the rest of the team as he ran through the jungle, for once they had made a fairly strong line, and yet that still wouldn't help them. Picking a point Krell turned and charged through, sabers blazing as he cut through several hunters. It would be hard to reach the group on a run so Krell propelled himself through the air landing near the rest of the team. "They have us effectively surrounded Commander. Well somewhat less effectively now."

Valanthe had managed to dispatch of two by reflecting the bowcaster shots back at the shooters and Burner and Aster managed to take down one each.

As the giant Besalisk finally joined them, Valanthe gave a bitter chuckle. "Well then let's take as many of them down as we can and hope we're still alive by the time your men come and exfil us." Extending her saber in a typical Soresu defensive stance, she bent her knees a little, knowing she needed to be fast and very, very agile and couldn't rely on her usual cloak and dagger tactics.

"Let's give them haraan boys!" (Let's give them hell boys!) She cried to her men, spinning her lightsaber in front of her as the attack began anew.

Taking up his own position opposite Valanthe, Krell dropped into his own defensive stance, bringing both his sabers into play. Even with all four of his blades spinning rapidly, Krell knew they could only keep this up for so long. Deflecting more and more shots, it was easy to feel as if nothing they were doing was having any real impact, the Trandoshans still advancing on the group and their fire only seemed to be increasing. Some of their shots were starting to get through, Krell had dodged a few but others had hit his armor.

Pushing out with her left hand, Valanthe managed to knock out a small group of the scaly hunters through the use of the Force. She threw her lightsaber at them, using the Force again to propel it and let it have the desired effect, cutting down two more as it rotated past them, then towards its master. Valanthe grabbed it deftly, stepping out of the way of another series of bolts, then propelling a set of nearby rocks at the attackers, hoping to disorient them enough for the clones to get a clearer shot.

The clones were doing their best to lay down cover fire in the minimal cover that they'd managed to find, but it was slowly being chinked away by the brutal onslaught.

"Besh leader, where the fierfek are you?" Valanthe heard Burner yell.

" _Ran into some trouble, been bushwhacked by a Trandoshan freighter! Besh two is down, had to provide as support for recovery. We're heading back to you now!"_

"HOW LONG? We're in a meat grinder here!"

" _Four minutes at least, we got drawn pretty far out."_

"Understood, Cresh out." Burner cut the comms, "four minutes!" He called out to the others.

"We're not going to last four minutes out here. We need better cover." Valanthe grunted, "Aster, Torn, get Pel up, Stick, lay down cover with Burner. There's a formation a hundred meters to our south, we need to punch through to that!"

"We'll never make it carrying him through this battle." Krell called out, working overtime to intercept all the blaster bolts heading their way.

"Where's your heart gone, Jedi?" Valanthe growled, "I am not leaving him to the fate of the others! Aster, Torn, get him up!"

She briefly picked up a surge of grateful disbelief as the two men hoisted their brother up, the other two forming up in front of them them protect their brother as best they could.

Valanthe took up the right flank, "Burner, go!"

Without reply, the small group made a mad, slow dash towards the formation, the former Jedi trying to move in pace with them while deflecting bolts as best she could. In a brief, fleeting thought, Valanthe wished for Renia, her friend being the far more athletic and agile of the two. The Mirialan was getting exhausted with her lightsaber exhibitions, getting hits and grazes more and more. Sooner rather than later, things were going to start passing through her defenses with greater numbers.

Shaking his head as the others moved the wounded clone, Krell continued to bring up the rear. It was foolish to risk all their lives for a single clone, the needs of the many outweighed that significantly. Jedi sensibilities like this would not serve the Republic in this war. Sacrifices would have to be made, it was expected as it was in any war. That is why they were using clones instead of raising a standing army of the republic. The clones were easily replaceable, Jedi weren't.

"You are taking quite a risk Commander."

Valanthe ducked into the meager cover as they reached it before moving over to Krell.

"I'm aware of the risk, general. It is however the _right_ thing to do," Valanthe countered, then her tone dropped. "I'm never going to be able to command these men effectively if I leave one of them to that horrible fate, while there _is_ a way to save them." The words came out in a rushed hiss.

"If you truly believe your command presence so lacking that you need to coddle your men so, that is your choice." Krell replied, deflecting a few targeted shots with his lightsabers, his voice low and disapproving. "However this will not serve you in the-"

Before Krell could finish his thought a large explosion drowned out the rest of his words, the shockwave even managing to stagger the large Jedi. Two Gunships quickly followed, swooping low over the team another barrage of rockets flew toward the enemy positions.

" _YYYEEEHHHOOOO! THE CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED!"_

Besh leader let out another cry of triumph as he turned his gunship in mid-air angling the nose downward and letting loose his blaster cannons on the remaining hunters. Following his lead two other Gunships began a similar run, their port side thrusters firing at full burn as they circled the embattled recon team.

 _Oh thank the Spirits!_ Valanthe's inward cry was echoed in a look of pure relief on her face at the most welcome sight and sound of the lartys.

Once the Gunships pushed the Trandoshans back with a wall of laser fire, Besh leader broke off landing between the team and the worst of the remaining enemy counter fire. _"LET'S GO GROUND POUNDERS WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"_

"Move it, troopers!" Burner bellowed, slapping Aster's shoulder as the armoured turtle moved with difficulty towards safety. Valanthe and Krell provided cover for the clones, albeit one of them begrudgingly.

"We're in!" Burner called, extending his arm to Vala, "come on, ma'am!"

Valanthe shut off her lightsaber and turned to her First in Command and grabbed his forearm as the larty gunners laid down cover fire. He hoisted her up into the transport with ease before continuing to lay down cover fire.

Glancing behind him to make sure the Mirialan had clambered aboard Krell launched himself through the air landing in the gunship's holding bay. "We're all aboard Lieutenant, go!"

" _Roger that sir, hang on!"_

The blast doors slid shut around them, shielding them from the still continuing onslaught of the Trandoshan hunters. Still though they persisted, firing everything they had left at them. The larty shook periodically, even swerved at one point. It slowly subsided however, as the transport managed to gain altitude.

Around her the bustle, however, didn't stop. Torn and one of Krell's medics set to work on Pel, Burner was in a rushed conversation with Stick and Aster. Valanthe stood there, holding to hand railing, staring at the door for a few moments as the LAAT/i climbed through the atmosphere. Her head rang with images, heart still thundering in her chest as she watched through the cracks.

 _How did it get so bungled?_


	16. Chapter 16: Strength Of The Heart

Valanthe kept staring at the closed hatch as the LAAT/i soared up through the atmosphere, holding onto the overhead railing.

* * *

" _Echoes in the Force," Vala realized. "Blonde hair, heterochromia - one blue eye one brown, scar across his cheek...oh Blackie. Fighting...a…" her brow furrowed as she tried to make out what she was feeling, "a scaly beast?"_

" _With sharp claws...hissing..tall and strong…" Krell added the blurred shapes seen through the Force becoming clearer._

 _Her hand went over her mouth, a sickening feeling rising in her stomach, "Spirits, it tore him apart...literally. I can practically feel it." The hand transitioned to the wall for support. "The moment repeats itself, almost as if frozen in time."_

 _Valanthe took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "That's one...where are the other two. What happened to them?"_

* * *

Her cheeks were wet, she could feel it. She hadn't the strength, nor the will to move from where she was, staring blankly forward into the hatch of the LAAT/i.

* * *

 _Bodies, two of them. One was hanging upside down from the tree, the other was slung over a long branch below. The upside down one was dripping with blood, its skin more or less in shreds. She couldn't see nor sense anyone there, so she dared to approach, needing to see who they were. The other body seemed crushed and mangled._

 _Reaching over, she turned the upside down body around so that she could see it's face. Valanthe nearly fell over from shock. The face, despite the injuries was known to her._

" _Commander, why'd you…" she could vaguely hear Burner in the back of her mind, heavy footsteps following, "oh skray…"_

 _Reaching towards the other body, Valanthe cried out in shock. Her gut wrenching, one hand clasped over her mouth, the woman fought down the gag reflex. She had failed them, in the worst possible way._

" _Kriffin' hells!" Torn was looking at the bodies now. "Those kriffin' beasts did this. They killed all three of them._

* * *

Chest aching and heart thundering, Valanthe blinked, only to find her sight hazed over from tears. Memories of the attack flooded her mind, amping up her rapidly rising guilt.

 _Why didn't I look? Why didn't I pay more attention? I should have paid more attention! I should have listened!_ Thoughts ran through her mind as the turbulence shook her in place, though she hardly felt it.

Her gut was twisted in painful knots, to the point of a really sick feeling in her stomach, compounded by the thundering ache in her chest. She found it difficult to breathe as well.

"Pel, no...come on, brother! Don't give up now!" She could hear Torn's sharp plea in the back of her mind and commotion around him. It seemed hollow, distant.

It was this that gave the push to turn and see what was going on, the realization of how disconnected it all felt.

Torn and one of Krell's medics were bent over the thrashing form of Pel trying to help him, Stick, Burner and Aster standing close by, holding onto each other in various forms, almost frozen in anticipation.

She could feel their blood freezing fear and concern for their brother. It overshadowed their shock, and anger, and confusion. Overshadowed they were, but still present.

Pel's Force signature was faint, yet holding on, fighting not to be snuffed out. She had to help him, she had to save at least one of them. She had to! This sent her out of her stupor and she stumbled along with the turbulence over to the two medics.

"I'm not a healer, but I can stabilize him until we get to the ship," she said, placing a hand on Torn's shoulder, her voice cracked, thick with emotion.

Torn too seemed to snap out of his panic induced attempt at calming his injured brother down. He looked up at her, blinking in obvious shock. She supposed she must have looked terrible. She felt worse than that, both physically and mentally. Finally though, he moved, rounding the thrashing man and joining Krell's medic on the other side. She quickly wiped her wet eyes with the back of her hand, blood and dirt smudged and kneeled.

She placed one hand over his face, the other over his heart. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and focused, forcing herself into an almost meditative state. Focusing outward, Valanthe projected strength and calm through the Force, focusing on boosting his body's defenses. Pushing through the pain, both her own and his, she dug deeper, to his cells, coaxing them to work together, gently pushing them to begin the healing process.

Cell by cell, his body began to respond, albeit slowly. He had been holding on for a long time, longer than a normal soldier would be able to hold on wounded. True, Torn's aid and care had been invaluable during the time, but it was still impressive and a testament to the genetically modified superiority of the clone bodies and minds.

His body now responsive, it was time to anchor the mind. They'd taught her long ago, back at the Temple and later during first aid training when she was training to be a RMOI agent, that sleep helped the body stabilize and heal. So she reached into his mind, careful not to jar memories or the essence of what made him Pel. As she delved deeper, she slipped in a sliver of her will, an urging, a command to sleep. She felt him respond and started to pull out. With the edge of her senses she caught a surprising sensation on the right side of his brain. Something tightly contained and dampened.

"He's stabilized. Vitals are weak but stable." She heard Torn's voice break through her concentration as she straightened up a little and opened her eyes, looking down at the unconscious man. _Hold on, Pel. Hold on…please._

"You did it, Commander." A gloved hand clasped her shoulder, then another, then another, and another.

Gratitude and relief overflowed her, the surprising sensation forgotten. She looked up, craning her neck, wincing a little as she remembered her shoulder and chest injury.

"Fierfek, Commander, you did it!" Aster grinned.

She gave them a watery smile, letting their emotions wash over her, trying to soothe the pain she felt. It helped a little.

"H…" she opened her mouth and closed it, feeling a lump lodge in her throat. "He should sleep for a while. I've put him into a Force induced sleep."

Torn nodded, attention now fully focused on her, "I should take a look at your injuries, ma'am."

She shrugged his hand off, wincing in the process because she forgot about her injured shoulder again. "I'll be fine, Torn. Check the lads over first. I'll get to the medbay once we get to the ship."

"Commander."

"The lads first." _I failed! I failed! I failed them._

She could feel Burner's eyes burning through the back of her head, but he seemed to keep his peace. Suddenly, she needed to get out of the compartment. It was a primal, almost stifling need. Standing up she moved past them, unaware that she stumbled a little. Moving into the next compartment, she felt her chest constrict a little. She moved along wall and sat on the ammo crate, trying to catch her breath.

She bit her lips, trying to keep herself under control, the muscles contorting downward under the pressure. Vala leaned against the wall, slightly banging her head against it. Covering her mouth with her palm, her shoulders shook.

Her hand moved from her mouth to the bridge of her nose. The woman inhaled then exhaled slowly, failing utterly to keep the grief at bay. Covering her mouth with both of her hands, the tears broke the dam, quiet sobs following.

 _Force, how do the Jedi deal with these losses every day? How do they cope with the grief?_ Her whole body shaking, a palm now covering her eyes. _Spirits, what do I do? This was my fault, from the start. I should never have sent them alone. I never should have let them go alone._

* * *

She'd been going on automatic the last few days, on their way back towards the Carcel resupply station. Krell and his troops had stayed in safe orbit of Felucia, awaiting the arrival of General Secura and her people, when they would work on securing the planet. Or trying to...again.

Valanthe and her surviving team had been ordered back to Carcel resupply station. They'd taken the same transport they'd arrived in.

She felt Burner's presence at the door to her room before he got the chance to press the buzzer.

"Come in," she called.

His mind was shielded, just like she'd taught him. It somewhat bothered her, she realized, not knowing. It had been this way since Felucia. Not knowing bothered her. It felt like thin, crackling ice beneath her feet.

The redheaded clone stepped through, an info-pad in his hand. "Got a moment, Commander?"

Vala looked up from her desk, buried in stacks of info-pads of her own. Reports on the mission, reports on Felucia I's mission, reports on Felucia II's mission, reports on her own mission, reports on readiness of her team, reports on casualties. All in all, all too many reports.

She smiled warmly at him, "please." Motioning for him to take a seat, she continued, "I need a break from reports…" in a soft voice the words continued, "and memories."

A smile that had appeared on his face disappeared just as fast at her words. "I'm afraid it's another set of reports, from myself, the rescue team and the survivors," he said, handing her the info-pad. "Sorry, ma'am."

The Mirialan chuckled, taking the pad, "eh, perks of intel-command. Paperwork through the roof. Drink?"

She felt him hesitate to express a desire to accept by default. "Don't worry, I won't tell the lads that you tarnished your icy persona."

This forced a chuckle out of him and she was glad. He relaxed a little and nodded.

"I've got…" Vala stood up and headed over to a small cabinet in the back of the room, rummaging through it, "well we've got Rodian Brandy."

"Never had it," he replied, looking over at her.

He'd kept a close eye on her ever since she was reunited with them, just like a good first in command should. He'd seen her fight, he'd seen her investigate, he'd seen her care, he'd seen her argue with a clearly more powerful Jedi Master over the value of himself and his brothers, especially the injured Pel. He'd seen her grief over what happened, he'd seen her use the Force to assist Pel when Torn couldn't. He'd seen her tears and almost felt her grief. He never told her he'd seen her break down in the small compartment afterwards.

Most of all though, he'd seen her. Probably for the first time. Not the Commander, not the former Jedi, not the intelligence officer. Her. Valanthe. Burner also had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Realistically, he knew there was nothing he could really do.

The Kaminoan training taught him one way of looking at things. She had a name. She was his superior officer. She was a Jedi in all but name. She was a natural born woman. She was born to make a difference. He had a number and a nickname. He was her first in command. He was a soldier. He was a clone. He was born to fight and die.

Then again, there was the training she'd given him and his brothers. They were people. They were individuals. They had personalities. They could and should think for themselves. They could question bad orders. They could decide what they wanted. They could be who they wanted to be.

The two very different trains of thought warred behind his well shielded mind. They were however interrupted before they could reach a resolution as a glass of brandy was slid into his hand.

"How are you doing, my friend?" Valanthe asked as she grabbed her desk chair and rounded the table, placing it next to his.

He almost jumped out of his skin as she did so. _Fek! Fek! Fek! Did she realize?_ _Does she know?_ Realizing she was waiting for answer he did his best to swallow down the heat in his cheeks. _You di'kut! You unprofessional di'kut! Get it together!_

"I'm fine, Commander," he said finally, taking a sip. "Fek, this really _is_ swill." _That was it? Maker, you really are a fekkin chakaar, Burner._

Vala chuckled, "hey, send Krell a complaint. His transport."

He seemed to stiffen at the mention of the name. "Heh…"

"Sorry. I was trying to be funny...failed at that." She took a sip herself and winced at the headache inducing taste. "Just like I failed everything else. The mission, you lads…" she continued, muttering a quiet 'I'm sorry' before taking another sip.

 _She still blames herself,_ he realized. "Commander..."

"Can you not?"

"Ma'am?"

"Don't call me that."

"I don't understand…."

"Can we just be Burner and Vala, here and now? Ranks and titles sound so wrong right now. Not with the haran we'd just gone through. I'm your friend and you are mine. Can we just be that?" The words left her lips before she could stop herself.

"Alright, alright. Point taken," he conceded, chuckling a little. "Vala."

"Thank you."

He raised his glass to her and clinked it against hers. "You're very welcome. You need to stop blaming yourself. This is war and this is our job. Our purpose."

Her lilac eyes caught his honey brown ones. "I didn't check soon enough. If I had checked sooner, we may have gotten to them in time. We could have gotten them off that planet. You'd still have your brothers."

Burner's soft spot for the green woman grew even softer. Simple words showed care. "Vala, you know we don't blame you, right? There was no way to know. We had the Balmorra mission, then Coruscant and Sermeria. There was nothing you could do. Besides, this is the life of a clone," he said, instantly regretting his words.

That wasn't what she tried to teach them, yet the words of the Kaminoans were hard to shake.

Her eyes grew sad, along with the rest of her, at his words. She took another sip. No matter how many times she'd had these conversations, there were some things that ran too deep it seemed.

 _Oh no, please don't start crying. I don't like it when you cry!_ He panicked internally for the briefest moment before realizing she wasn't going to. But the sad look on her face, he wanted to make it go away. This close to him, he could see the details of her facial tattoos, the shade of her eyes and skin. It was a lovely shade of green.

"I'm not going to stop trying to convince you that you matter more than just meat fodder," she said finally, her eyes still on his.

A soft smile erupted on his face, "I know."

"Well goooooomph!" It happened before she could register it. She felt his soft lips on hers, a warm, callused palm on her cheek, a touch so light, as if she'd break if he pressed harder.

Then slowly her mind registered what was happening. _Oh no, no, no, no! Stang! Stang! Stang! Stang!_

A similar process returned to his own mind as well. _You incredible, stupid chakaar! You di'kut! You are going to get reconditioned! You di'kut!_ Then as he pulled away he managed to calm down a little. _This is the Commander, Vala. She won't send me to reconditioning. Oh skray, this is embarrassing._

He opened his eyes to find her surprised, lilac ones looking at him intently.

"Burner...what...I…." _Really?_ _ **Now**_ _you lose your words? Brilliant, just brilliant!_ "Burner, what was that for?" Vala tried, completely out of sorts.

"I…." _What am I going to say? I really like you, Vala so I used this moment of grief to show you how I feel? Fek!?_ "I'm sorry, it's all of it, everything. What's happened, the drink, learning more about you, seeing how much you care...and this moment…" _Oh, well done. Bloody well done._ He stumbled over his words, feeling his cheeks burn, pretty sure the shade of his skin was as red as his hair now.

 _Oh Force! Oh Spirits! I often forget you're also so very young. Young boys._ Vala sighed inwardly as she schooled her features into a calm expression, realizing he didn't need anger, but a gentle explanation. Placing a hand on his, she focused on the clearly blushing man. "I understand, Burner. These things happen in tense situations like these. Emotions are raw and on the surface."

 _She doesn't understand._ He thought to himself as he focused on her, feeling the heat in his cheeks slowly dissipate.

"I'm not trying to hurt you with what I'm about to say, you need to know this." Vala continued, her voice thick. Spirits, he really doesn't need more negativity. "We work together, in an especially difficult branch of the GAR. We are allies, we are friends. We need to keep our heads together and not let our heads be clouded with emotions. I do care about you, Burner. But not in the way you want me to, in a way you deserve. I am sorry."

The words hit him like like an concussion round, but he managed to keep his composure. So she did understand. It did hurt. He did understand however and she made a good point. It just hurt.

"I'm so sorry if I ever gave you the impression otherwise. I truly didn't mean to. Please believe that this has nothing to do with you being a clone. The right woman...or man, would be lucky to be your partner. But I'm not the one to be that," Vala continued, feeling the pain in him. "I know this is hurting. It's sadly a normal reaction. I'm sorry." She sighed.

"It's okay, Commander." His mouth wouldn't let him say her name. Calling her Commander now was easier. It gave him back some of the control. He would fully deal with this when he was alone. Or maybe drinking himself silly with Aster. "I know you'd not be that shallow. I am sorry too, it was...I shouldn't have done it. It won't happen again. I hope you won't send me for reconditioning."

This caused her eyebrows to arch sharply, "reconditioning? For this? Why, by the stars, would I do that?"

"It was utterly unprofessional and disrespectful and against regulations, ma'am," he replied, his posture stiffening up.

Vala smiled kindly at him, "no, Burner. You've done nothing wrong or abnormal. This will not affect how I see you professionally. Do not worry."

He nodded stiffly, though he felt a little relieved. He believed her. "I should go check on Pel."

Pel, now stable, was being transported with them to the closest medical facility.

Vala nodded, sighing. "Okay. I'll let you know when we receive our new orders."

Burner stood up, nodding. "Commander," he said in a clipped manner and all but ran out of her office.

The Mirialan buried her head in her hands, remaining sat where she was, letting out a long breath, trying to ease the tension.

* * *

It had been some hours since the kiss. She'd managed to send the reports ahead to Coruscant and requested new orders. Vala had also placed a long distance call to Renia Vinree. After the stresses of the past few days, she needed to talk to her best friend, her sister. Even if it was holocommunication.

It didn't take long for Renia to pick up the call, at the Jedi Temple it wasn't hard for one of the techs to track her down. At first she'd been tempted to put it off till later, that was until she heard it was from Vala. Rushing back to her room, Ren activated the private holocomm system, smiling as Valanthe's face appeared. There was something wrong. She could tell. There was stress there, more so than there even had been on Sermeria. "Vala, are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Hey Ren," Vala gave her friend a tired smile, tucking a dark lock behind her ear. "I wish I could lie and say, _oh I'm fine_."

A moment of silence as the Mirialan took a deep breath.

"Felucia was a clusterfek of the highest level. Mission failed, men lost and intel." Vala finally said, sighing. "I lost three from the original team that were to set up the listening post. One from the second team has been holding out injured so long that I've had to put him into a Force induced sleep to stabilize him andBurnerkissedme." The latter came out in a half-whispered rush.

Taking in all that happened, Ren wished she could reach through the hologram and pull the woman into a tight hug and never let her go. Ren had seen her fair share of loss since the start of the war, from Geonosis to Semeria there wasn't a battle that she hadn't lost people. She could still remember vividly what it felt like the first time, after Geonosis, after the battle the need to be alone losing so many men and so many friends.

"Force, Vala...I'm sorry...That couldn't have been easy for you at all, losing someone for the first time, it…" Ren really didn't know what to say, maybe no one did.

"I lost it. I completely lost it after I stabilized Pel. The fear, the pain the stress their own feelings." Words came out quick, somewhat choked. "One of them was torn apart limb from limb in the outpost. The other two we found later strung up upside down, skin torn into strips, bleeding them dry."

Ren blanched at what Vala had to say, the savagery of the attack shocking her more than anything she'd experienced in the war so far. "How...torn apart? The Separatists did this?" It was horrifying to hear to say the least.

Vala shook her head. "No, the Seps were there but the droids are too dumb to do that." Another sigh, "a hunting pack of Trandoshans got them. I don't know if this was before or after the Sep attack, we saw residue and debris from both…."

She opened her mouth to say more but her voice caught. "Blackie...he'd dyed his hair a hideous blonde shade and had heterochromia. One brown eye one green. He was pulled apart in the control room. It was so violent there was an echo left in the Force. Both Krell and I felt it."

Valanthe sighed. "Len and Vas...one would think we'd seen some horrible things in our lives. Spirits, I thought Dalleron was bad. This took the top…"

Ren's hand had made its way to cover her mouth, it didn't seem possible to be more horrified than she had been before, but for a single death to leach an echo strong enough for two Jedi to feel it...It must have been brutal for Krell to have felt it with no connection to Blackie. "Vala I...I wish I knew what to say."

Vala shrugged, sighing, "there is nothing you can say, really. The war goes on and so must we. I must be extra careful next time. I'm not going to let them down again. They keep saying it was not my fault but I can't help but feel it is…"

There was a short pause as she collected herself.

"How did you feel when you had your first losses?"

"I don't know how exactly to describe it," Ren answered, worried about her friend. "I guess...I felt cold, detached from it all. It didn't hit me at first, with the battle and all. It's hard to describe, there was the guilt and bargaining…" It wasn't an easy question to answer, all the emotions, sensations and second guesses...how did you quantify that?

Vala nodded. "They...their emotions are so incredibly strong. Incredibly adaptable..the way they worried over Pel. I sometimes truly forget they are so young. If _we_ are having trouble dealing...can you imagine what goes on in their heads?" The Mirialan wondered, feeling more under control now.

"It's certainly a valid question. You'd think that the Kaminoans would have formed their psyche around being able to handle the stress of war. But then again when you see the variations among the clones in their personalities, I can't help but wonder if they even thought that far ahead." The times she'd met Kaminoans they'd always seemed...uncaring of the clones. It wouldn't surprise her if they never considered many of them surviving long enough to feel the effects of losing their brothers.

"Come on, what do _they_ know about stress? Spirits, their species survived because they clone themselves." Vala ran a tattooed hand through her hair. "No wonder Burner couldn't really say why he kissed me."

That one had Ren reeling, her eyes wide as she ran over what Vala just said. Of everything she'd been told today that was by far the most surprising. "Burner...Burner kissed you?"

Vala blinked then laughed softly, seeing the expression on Renia's face. "Yes, as it so happens. Total left field move."

"I didn't, I didn't even know clones knew what kissing was or had those kinds of feelings." More and more surprises, what else didn't they know about these men the Republic created...what other wonders were they capable of?

"Well...I think they know about a lot more than kissing, at least some of them." Vala couldn't fight a soft chuckle, remembering what Fives had told her back on the Resolute. "There are apparently places on Coruscant that cater to clones. As for feelings, I truly believe he didn't quite understand it. But I know he backpedalled quite fast when I had to tell him no."

"Well I can certainly understand that, I can't really imagine the kind of courage it would take for him to try." As strange as it sounded, as a Jedi she could kind of understand, the strange feelings, the fear, the temptation to act. The difference was, she had the Code, she had training to help her control those kinds of feelings and urges. How were the clones supposed to handle that without any guidance and apparently clubs set up to cater to their burgeoning evolution.

Riis nodded, "it's why I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. I told him there was someone out there for him, woman or man or whatever there is in the middle, but that I wasn't it." Tattooed fingers pinched the bridge of her tattooed nose.

"That couldn't have been easy, for either if you." Ren said scratching the back of her neck uncomfortably. She'd never been great at this kind of thing, often getting teased when they were Padawans because unlike some of the others she'd never made a...connection with anyone. "If ah...what is the truth, if I can ask?"

A pained look crossed the Mirialan's eyes, "he should have taken the name Frost. Frost should have taken Burner. It takes a lot to venture out like that, especially for someone as cold as he is. I remember how hard it was for you, back in the day. It's why I couldn't tell him."

"Heh, that bad is he?" Ren said with a chuckle, a bit of a blush rising to her cheeks. Vala was probably right, if Burner really was like her, all those years ago the just making the overture would have been the hardest thing in the world. "I ah, I guess you made the right call, considering who he is."

"It's like he is an individual and yet not. A stark difference from your Frost, or your ARC's. Force, nothing like Fives and Echo. How are they by the way, your boys?" Vala gestured slowly with her hands.

"Busy as always," Ren said with a returning grin, glad for the change of subject. "No-Nines and Oddball have been training the new recruits. Fives and Echo spent some time helping hand out until they were shipped off to finish their ARC training." It had been good to see her ARCs in their element, No-Nines was a natural instructor, easily taking the lead with the shinies.

"Oh, so they're at Kamino while you're on Coruscant or?" Vala smirked. "How surprised _were_ the shinies when they learned Oddball is a tech expert?"

"No we're at a training center here on Coruscant, training part of the forces that will be joining us. The rest will come later when we're shipped out to our next posting. As for the shinies, well the word certainly spread like wildfire when the first one found out. I don't think any of them believed it without seeing proof first," Ren said with a laugh, remembered the first one that had been brave enough to approach her about it.

"I know the three of us were quite shocked when we found out about it. Tell them I said hi, will you? And that I miss them?" Vala smiled fondly.

"Of course they'll be glad to hear you're alright, I think they miss you too, Fives and Echo especially."

"Oh?" Vala chuckled. "Did they say something?"

"Not so much said something, more how they acted after you were gone." Ren was still trying to figure it out herself, to be perfectly honest. Vala had quite obviously made quite the impression on all four ARCs as well as the troops that had been with them on Sermeria. It had seemed like they all would have liked to have Vala around much longer, but the way Fives and Echo took it was different. "There was less enthusiasm after you left. The same...playful energy wasn't there as much. It would still appear, but it wasn't a constant amongst the group. It really wasn't until the new recruits arrived that they seemed to come out of their...funk at all."

"Aw." Vala chuckled, "well if I get to Coruscant by the time you're still there, I'll come and visit. Maybe Fives and Echo will have finished their training by then. Would you send them a message for me at least? Same as for your ARCs?"

"Like you ever have to ask, I'd ship you all the way back here if I could," Ren said with a laugh, actually considering the idea in the back of her mind. It wouldn't necessarily be impossible, just a bit unethical. "Either that or maybe we'll stay to extend our training time, Nemina could use some more time at the temple and we could use a few more ARCs…"

Valanthe nodded, glancing at her message display a new one marked urgent having come through. "One moment, Ren."

Her eyes darted over the message several times to make sure she'd read this correctly.

"Damn it." A soft mutter escaped her.

"Vala?" The Jedi asked nervously as she watched her friend read and then quickly re-read the message.

"They're splitting us up...again." The Mirialan sighed, "the lads are to return to Kamino. I'm being recalled to Coruscant. They need to do the re-vetting. It appears Rendili has joined the Separatists."

"Damn…" Not only was Rendili and their massive shipyards a huge loss to the Republic but that was Vala's home. She may have been taken from her home at a young age like most young Jedi, but despite that you still felt a certain connection to your home world. Ren might have been raised in the Temple but she was still an Onderonian. "Why do they need to do re-vetting?" That didn't make any sense to Ren, near half the Republic had joined the Separatists why did this require special attention?

"Every serving officer or general was re-vetted once their homeworlds joined the CIS. Including yourself. It's SOP, Ren. You weren't recalled because you're not intelligence and because you're a field commander. I'm a personal favor at best, to Master Yoda and Sinube." Vala sighed. "They won't find anything, don't worry. Spirits, I didn't even know Rendili was on the fence, let alone that they signed up."

She hadn't been to her home planet in over a decade, since before she left the Jedi Order. Even back then, she hadn't gone to visit her family, but to follow a trail of evidence left by a suspect.

"Maybe so, but it's not fair to suspect you, you've been nothing but loyal to the Republic even after leaving the order," Ren grumbled, not exactly pleased to hear that she was suspected too. She was a Jedi, a Master of the Order, how could her loyalty be suspect?

"Fair has nothing to do with it, my friend. I understand the motive behind it. But like I said I have nothing to hide." Valanthe shrugged, "besides, it'll be good to take it a little slower, follow up on my old cases."

 _Talk to Lex privately finally. Maybe I can get to the bottom of the Balmorra database mystery._

"Get a chance to see you and the boys, and looks like Luminara too. They're set to pick me up at Carcel station. I'll need to contact Kamino later, see what they needed my boys for." Vala pinched the bridge of her nose again, "oh Spirits. Burner was afraid I'd send him for reconditioning. I promised I wouldn't….and now they're recalled to Kamino."

Ren grimaced at that little piece of information, as much as she was glad to hear Vala was on her way to Coruscant, despite the circumstances. Considering Burner's state of mind, or what she imagined his state of mind to be, being sent to Kamino wouldn't be taken well. "I'm sure he'll understand as long as you explain it to him...right?"

"I hope so. I'll show him the message I got, show it to all of them. Hopefully the Kaminoans can help Pel. Would be such a shame, he's held on for so long. Their physiology is incredible, their will and endurance. But I digress. You Humans have a saying, 'keep your fingers crossed', yes?" Vala nodded.

"That and toes, hair, and eyes, although the last one is for laughs," Ren said with a cuckle. "I hope they'll be able to help him, I know there are several very talented Jedi healers on Kamino as well."

"I hope so." Vala glanced at the chronometer, "I should go. I need to talk to the lads and try to get some rest before we arrive to Carcel and I head for Coruscant. I'll call you when I've checked in at work?"

"You better, if I find out that you've arrived on planet and I wasn't there to at least meet you at the starport I'll be very cross with you," Ren said, with a cheeky grin, while she playfully wagged her finger at Vala.

"You sound like Obi-Wan. Cross with me." Vala laughed softly. "May the Force be with you, my friend."

"I can think of worse influences…" Ren said with a chuckle as she refocused her gaze on Vala, a more serious but no less warm expression forming in her features. "May the Force be with you too Vala. Safe travels, ferith."

"And you." Vala nodded gracefully, cutting the holo-comm link.

After a moment to collect herself, she sent a message to Burner, Stick, Aster and Torn - _my room, ASAP._


	17. Chapter 17: Detached Intelligence

_**-Venator-Class Star Destroyer Tranquility, after departure from Carcel resupply station-**_

The boys hadn't taken it well. Aster had vehemently protested and even Stick joined in the verbal explosion of thought and feeling. She was pretty sure Pel would have protested too if the poor soul was awake. Valanthe was glad though. He was slowly beginning to heal, so perhaps there was a chance for him to recover fully.

Burner? Burner kept quiet, even more so than usual. He'd been withdrawn and back in his shell of professionalism since the kiss. His mind was closed off so tightly she would have to forcefully invade it to know what was on his mind. The man's body language though, spoke enough. Almost as if he was glad to be away. If that were true, it saddened her. _He needs time. He'll be fine. They adapt quickly,_ Vala told herself as she stepped off of her transport into the _Tranquility's_ shuttlebay.

The _Tranquility,_ Luminara's ship. She hadn't seen Luminara since she joined the war effort. Valanthe actually hadn't seen the fellow Mirialan since before she'd left the Jedi two had been contemporaries in her day, getting knighted at the same time. It had been tradition within the Order, still was in fact, that Mirialan Masters would take on Mirialan students only, if such were present, to carry on the ways and knowledge of their people as well as train the Padawans. Master Andrael Celin had been the Mirialan Master at the Temple at the time the two had been eligible to be taken on as Padawans.

While of comparable skill, Master Celin had chosen Luminara as his Padawan. It was never quite clear why, to Valanthe, but she never regretted being chosen as Padawan by Master Tera Sinube. She had meshed well with the, even then, old Cosian. Her inquisitive mind and less stiff nature than that of Luminara's helped in her fleshing out.

Valanthe, having been born on Rendili, rather than on the homeworld of the Mirialans, Mirial, had been born in a world where societal norm had been rather loose, more outward looking. While Valanthe too was spiritual and adhered to the Mirialan tradition of tattooing personal achievements on various parts of her body, she had, over the years, altered her approach to them and added variance to her tattoos that echoed memorable events, experiences or people. She also dressed much more loosely than most Mirial born Mirialans, and eschewed the practice of cloaks and head-dresses.

Still, Valanthe and Luminara had been friends, back in the day, albeit of a distantly respectful kind, rather than close, like the friendship Riis had enjoyed with Renia.

Looking ahead, she could see the tightly buttoned up older Mirialan woman, whose strong, stoic-yet-compassionate presence brought a smile to her face. And a younger Mirialan woman, of slightly lighter skin and height, with a set of diamond shaped tattoos across her nose and cheek.

"It is good to see you again, Luminara." Valanthe let the warmth in her tone be echoed in her expression as she stepped closer. She bowed gracefully to the Jedi Master.

"And you as well, Valanthe. It has been quite some time," Luminara smiled back politely, just the barest hint of warmth echoing in her tone as she too bowed in turn. "May I introduce you to my Padawan, Barriss Offee. She is studying to be a Jedi Healer while she is finishing her training with me."

"It's is a pleasure to meet you, Valanthe. Master Unduli has told me a great many things about you," Barriss said with a deep and formal bow a Padawan would give a visiting Jedi Master. Admittedly she was a little nervous to meet the former Mirialan Jedi. She was afraid she would recognize Barriss' most recent failure during the parasite crisis.

Valanthe bowed in kind to the younger woman, though her eyebrows raised in gentle amusement. "It is a pleasure, Barriss. I wasn't aware Luminara thought so highly of me," she added with a chuckle.

"Come now, Valanthe, aside from that one time, you are well remembered among the Order," the elder Mirialan said, motioning for them to move.

Riis fell into step beside Barriss," your Master paints me in a better light than I deserve _._ " She was honestly surprised by Barriss' account.

Around the time of the Dalleron incident, the two didn't speak much, and not at all after it. To hear she was spoken of by the fellow Mirialan broughta warmth to her heart.

"My Master has always encouraged me to do my research...to find all the facts. So when we were informed you'd be traveling with us we decided that it would be a good time to learn more and fill in the details," The Mirialan apprentice said, a faint blush darkened her light green cheeks. "It turns out I was not as thorough as I should have been in my younger years...we've been speaking for days."

Valanthe chuckled softly as the three Mirialans turned a corner, _I wonder at the lesson you took from it all. Luminara never spoke needlessly. If she spoke for that long, she was telling you something. Subtly imploring you not to be me?_

"Well, if you wish, we can speak in depth. I will be with you for a couple of days while we reach Coruscant?" Riis offered. "If perspective is what you seek?"

She glanced at Luminara as she'd said it, curious as to the Master's reaction. In place of expected displeasure or denial, Valanthe saw a calm smile and a nod. Unduli had never been one to express her emotions and as a result always seemed stiff and unyielding. If you took your time and looked past the austere, uncaring front, you could see a keen, open mind. It was that that Valanthe had always respected.

"I'd like that very much! Your perspective on things would be most unique," Barriss said, excitedly smiling before she remembered where they were and who was in their company, reigning herself and her excitement in once she did. "That is, if Master Unduli approves…"

"If you remain mindful of the here and now, and your duties, you are free to speak with Valanthe at any length you wish, Barriss," Luminara said with a graceful nod. "I understand that Rendili has joined the Separatists."

Vala nodded, "mhm. Rendili, Mirial, Onderon…" _I wonder if you expect me to sugarcoat it when I speak to your Padawan, or tell her the truth?_ "At the very least, I know where my loyalties lie, if nothing else. With the Republic and its people."

 _ **-Star Destroyer Tranquility, mess hall-**_

It was in the mess hall two days later that Barriss would find Valanthe. The Mirialan had sat herself with Commander Gree, Luminara's first-in-command. She had heard his name through the grapewine the day before and was intrigued by the name.

"So, how did you come by your name, Commander? If you don't mind my asking?" Valanthe couldn't help herself. She smiled as warmly as she could muster at the red haired clone.

"I read about the Gree people in a historic info-pad while I was assisting General Unduli with brokering a peace treaty on Seyora, sir." The clone, who had his head shaved, save for two red streaks atop of his head smiled at her. That shy, yet eager to burst smile. "I like to read…" he gave an almost apologetic shrug.

Vala, who was playing around with the rather distasteful lunch in the clone mess hall, grinned at him. "So what was it about the Gree that attracted you to the name? As I recall they're quite otherworldly looking."

"I was fascinated by the history of the species and their ingenuity and inventions," he admitted, smiling a little brighter now.

"Maybe you could visit their Enclave one day, when the war is over, hm? Indulge in some hands on research?" Vala suggested, her own smile forming.

"Perhaps...I would like that," Gree admitted in a low whisper, as if he was afraid someone would hear. Vala frowned a little but decided not to press further. These weren't her men nor men she was familiar with, like Fives and Echo, or Renia's ARCs.

So, she nodded and smiled, regarding Gree for a few moments. He seemed warm and open, curious, yet at the same time with an aura of eased professionality. Like he was born to lead, yet did not feel suffocated by it, like some of the Clone Commanders she'd met while on Kamino.

"So, I'm guessing you lads are green because of the General and the Commander?" She decided to poke a little.

He nodded and she could feel the pride roll off of him. "Yes, ma'am. We are proud to serve with them. General Unduli is a wise leader and the Commander treats us very kindly."

Barriss couldn't help but make an approving sound akin to an 'aaww' as the Commander's kind words. There were times she'd wondered if the clones felt she didn't measure up to her Master or to some of the other Padawan Commanders. It did of course make her feel a bit guilty at using her skills to bend perception to listen in on the pair's conversation. But it had been too good an opportunity to pass up, to hear their thoughts without feeling the need to censure them for her benefit….

Valanthe felt a shy presence sitting right behind Gree, facing his back. "That's excellent. I heard that the Campaign on Geonosis turned out well in the end. After the destruction of the factory."

Gree nodded, "indeed. We were quite worried for a while, especially when we weren't sure that the Commander made it. The General and I were very worried, even though the General tends not to show it."

Valanthe glanced briefly behind his back, then back at the red-headed clone who sipped his caff easily, seemingly happy to speak with her. Perhaps it was the fact that she wasn't a Jedi, or perhaps the fact she wasn't _their_ Commanding Officer. Either way, Valanthe was happy to listen, learning yet another variant of clone personality.

"I'm not even going to go into the Kalida Shoals facility incident. I can't imagine how the Commander must have felt. Poor girl," Gree continued with a soft tone.

Barriss frowned, they had never been more ashamed then after Kaliida Shoals, how the parasites had taken over their ship, taken over her body. She had also never been more terrified, trapped insider her own mind, a terrible version of herself trying to kill Ahsoka. It had been horrible not to be in control of one's self, in that one fleeting moment where she'd regained control, Barriss had been ready for it all to end, desperate to die rather than live like that... She would forever be in her friend's debt for freeing her.

Valanthe barely contained a smirk as the young Padawan shimmered into existence behind the red-haired Commander.

"I'm sure the Commander appreciates very much that her men care about her," Riis goaded subtly, expertly, not giving away that she'd noticed. Gree would probably be embarrassed when he realized Barriss was sitting behind him, but Vala was confident both would eventually be glad for the revelation.

"We do. She has been very kind to us and she's helped heal many of our brothers. We would gladly die for her. General Unduli too, of course." Gree barreled past Vala's words with firm conviction and a nod.

A single tear rolled down Barriss' cheek as Gree's words touched her deeply. Although usually quite reserved and in control like many Mirialans, she was overcome by the kindness the clone displayed. Part of her wanted to run from the room and the other wanted to turn around and return the kindness as best she could.

"I think she's quite glad to serve with you too…" Vala commented softly, glancing behind his shoulder.

Gree blinked at Valanthe then turned his head to look in the direction Valanthe was looking at and almost jumped to attention.

"Sir, I apologize, I didn't see you there." He noticed the shimmering on her cheek as he managed to turn around to face her more fully. "Are you alright, Commander?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes...I'm fine thank you…" Barriss said quickly wiping her cheek as she turned around. Her avenue for escape blocked she, (thankfully) had no choice but to join the two. "And I should be the one apologising, listening in without announcing myself."

Gree dutifully slid aside to allow Barriss to join them. "It's alright, Commander. No harm done." He said, the slightest tinge of a blush warming his skin.

Valanthe on the other hand was all quiet amusement. "Can't tell you how many times I've done the exact same thing without thinking."

"You can not be seen too, Commander Riis?" Gree perked up, glad that he could focus away from his embarrassment.

Vala nodded, "you need some practice, but you could pull off a full concealment with time," she said, looking over at Barriss.

"I wondered if you could see me, my skill at bending perception is rudimentary at best." Barriss said as she settled in, a blush on her cheeks mirroring Gree's. "I've only just started using it to conceal myself...since the war started. In the past I learned to use it to help injured ignore wounds they had while I healed them."

"I could feel you first, but that's because I know what to look for and I could feel your Force signature," Vala said as she finished her lunch. "I could only see you when your concentration broke though. That's normal though. It does take a lot of focus to remain concealed both visibly and in the Force."

"It does, far more than I have now. Perhaps that is one of the things you can tell me about while you're with us?" Barriss asked hopefully. There were so many things she did want to hear about; Valanthe's perspective on the Jedi, the Code...even the Republic itself.

"I can try," Vala shrugged, "what would you like to know?"

The girl felt curious, confused, and uncertain at the same time. Much more so than she'd ever felt a Padawan feel. The calm seemed to escape her. Not even Luminara's influence seemed to help.

 _Or you don't want it to. What is eating you so, young Barriss?_

"There are so many things, I honestly don't know where to start." Barriss' embarrassment and hesitance as always took a backseat to her curiosity, her excitement at wrapping her mind around something new. "Life outside the Jedi for one, Master Unduli when she was young, your reasons for leaving...Force there are so many."

Pushing her tray aside, Vala took a sip of her caff. Vaguely, she registered Gree excusing himself and taking her tray along with his own away.

"Life outside the Order is much, much different to that of a Jedi. I was lucky to have had exposure to it prior, when I was a Shadow, so I adapted rather quickly." Vala admitted, "there are times I miss the serenity of the Temple. But I feel like I've come to understand the Force and the universe a lot more since I left."

Could she fill a young, clearly impressionable mind with her thoughts and conclusions? Could she tell her the truth that lead to Dalleron and its aftermath?

Barriss was surprised by that to say the least, considering how some of the others in the Order spoke of those who left the Jedi way she'd thought Valanthe would have had to struggle to connect with the Force. Looking to the side to see what Gree made of it, she was disappointed to find him gone, clearing the trays. She'd hoped to echo his comments to him, that she too felt very fortunate to serve with the Commander. Well, she'd just have to find him later, he might take it better were they alone anyway.

"I have sometimes felt that the way the Order teaches connection to the Force...it can be obstructive at times, full of barriers rather than something organic that we can experience."

A dark eyebrow rose ever so slightly, "in what way do you mean, Barriss?" The question was soft, calming. To admit something like this would be frowned upon by the more mainstream Jedi. Valanthe didn't want Barriss to feel afraid, or trapped.

Riis felt it was good to question things on occasion. But at the same time, it was the teachings of the Jedi that helped her weather the brunt of her emotions in the early days of her solitary life.

"It's hard to describe…" Barriss said, her voice lowering a bit. "There are times when Master Unduli is teaching me something, going through a lesson or some such and we'll stop. Or perhaps I've found something I've explored on my own and there are rules against some knowledge…" She stopped a moment, hesitating to continue. "It's not that I don't understand there need to be barriers, but it seems that this method of teaching hasn't changed in thousands of years...surely there must be a better way."

"Trust that your Master is teaching you well. Does she know all? No. Noone does. It _is_ those teachings, though, that will help you deal with the unknown. Certain knowledge is forbidden for a reason. Not everyone can handle it. For some of it a great mental strength is needed, and a good anchor to pull you back from the brink." Vala ventured, not entirely liking the young woman's train of thought. "What would you consider a better way?"

"I...I don't know," Barriss said her head lowering for a moment. Valanthe was right, at least that's what she'd always been taught. That this was the way of the Jedi and it was the safest way. "Perhaps there is no better way...but when the one we have at times seems unnatural, it is perplexing that the greatest minds of the Order, of which I place my Master near the top, haven't found a better way."

Valanthe took a long sip and pondered the young woman's words. There was much she longed to tell her, much advice to offer on how to handle such events, advice she'd learned on her own. She was not Barriss' Master, however and it was not her place to do so. She respected Luminara and her work, despite not always agreeing with it.

"You never know though, that they haven't tried," Vala offered as a method of placating. "I may have left the Order, but their teachings remain with me, they _have_ helped."

"That's true, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I?" Barriss said with a chuckle, looking deeply into her glass of water. "I do that sometimes, Master Unduli often reminds me to focus on learning about what I know before moving onto the next big thing..."

"I know it doesn't seem like it now. I was young myself once," _a long time ago,_ "but try, Barriss. You have a good teacher too. One who can introduce you to the core values of Mirialan culture to boot. In a way you get a bonus with that. The only culture I could learn about were the Cosians and criminals, considering who my Master was." Vala gave a kind smile.

"I know...I've always been thankful that Master Unduli picked me." Barriss replied, returning the smile. "She's practically raised me...sometimes I do find that her lessons on our culture are a bit less rigid than those of the Force." They were still very proper of course, but Luminara gave her greater freedom in exploring Mirialan ways.

Valanthe observed the blue eyed Mirialan. Like all of their species, she too had the most intense of eyes. A bright, almost electric blue. Riis wanted to say more, but knew too well that she should not interfere on the development of a Padawan. A student of a strict Mirialan, or a bright orange student of The Hero With No Fear. Valanthe was no longer a Jedi and she knew she had no rights to impart herself on the young minds.

"With great power, there comes great responsibility. That is what she is trying to teach you. Our kind, the Force users, we possess a great ability. What we do with it is what defines us who we are. Who do you want to be, Barriss Offee?" Valanthe said finally, sipping her caf slowly.

"I am still trying to figure that out. The path of a healer seems to suit me, much more than that of a hero…" she said with a frown, thinking back to Geonosis and to the parasites. "Those youthful fantasies left me, I think. I want… want to be someone who learns and is able to learn when the impulse takes me."

"And now that is who you're not?" A delicate curved eyebrow raised.

"Maybe...at least in part I don't know if I've fully achieved that, perhaps it is not something you can do as a Padawan, or at least not something you can complete." Barriss wasn't really sure how to answer that. Truly answering who one was, it...it wasn't as simple as she ever expected.

"Some never find it out, some with time. Try not to worry about when and how. You will know, when the time comes. The Force will guide you." Valanthe smiled at the young woman. "Don't let the darkness and despair of the war drag you down. You have a good Master and great troops, especially your Commander Gree. He has a well of topics to talk about."

"He does, although he's always so shy, at least when I've tried to really talk to him." Barriss frowned at the times she'd tried to learn more about him and some of the other clones and while they were never rude, they never stuck around very much either. "Is that how all clones are with us?"

"Hardly. They vary as much as the rest of us do. I've met gregarious, chatty ones, I've met angry, mouthy ones," her lips curved upward as she remembered Fives, Hardcase and Aster, "I've met warm, caring ones and ones so cold you'd think they have no emotion whatsoever." A side by side image formed in her mind of Frost and Burner.

"I think they can tell that you yourself are shy." Vala chuckled softly, "he spoke to me just fine before you came."

"Heh yes, I've been working on getting over that," Barriss said with an uncomfortable rub to the back of her neck. "Meeting the clones helped that somewhat."

Valanthe fought very hard to keep as much of a straight face as she could, to not openly grin. "They do tend to change your perspective on things. It's often the unlikely ones that change you most."

"Very much so. When I first heard about them my assumption was they'd be more like organic droids. But the reality couldn't have been further from the truth. The discovery was a very pleasant surprise." The idea of creating organic people that were basically droid servants had not been something she would have supported.

"That is quite similar to how I felt when I first learned of what happened. It was a friend of mine who's a trainer there who convinced me to come and see for myself, who changed my mind." Vala admitted, probably something she hadn't told anyone yet, not even Renia. "I am glad he changed my mind. It has been an eye opening experience."

"That must have been interesting to see...do you…" Barriss quickly looked around again and lowering her voice. " Do you ever feel conflicted about using them like this...the Jedi using them like this, to fight a war that they had no say in being a part of?"

Valanthe sipped her caf slowly, regarding the young woman for a moment. "I don't feel conflicted, I flat out don't like it. This is, however, the state of things. They are here and we are here and we should our best to treat them as humanely as possible. I try to do right by them and will continue to do so after the war is over." Vala leaned on her elbows, regarding Barriss, "the Republic won't mobilize her civillians. So we had to step in and we needed support."

She wanted to say that the Jedi didn't really know about the Clone Army until Obi-Wan discovered it, but that would have been overstepping her boundaries and the teachings of Luminara Unduli.

"Yes but…" Barriss started to say before reigning herself in again. "Of course you're right but...I find myself asking, even though the need is there, how the Jedi justify using a slave army."

 _They don't have a bloody choice!_ Vala nodded, "I understand your standpoint, believe me." _They also send kids onto the front lines and have them lead soldiers._ "But now is not the time to question the morality of it. We need our minds focused on ending this conflict as quickly as possible with as little casualties as possible. Afterwards, the Republic and the Order need to undergo some heavy changes, own up and take responsibility, care for it's three million new inhabitants, like they deserve."

" _The ends justifying the means then…_ " Barriss mused staring into her water. It was something to consider. But once this war was over, would the Jedi even want to change? Would the damage already be done?

"Sometimes that is the only option available, as wrong as the principle is in its core." Vala nodded slowly.

"I guess so…" Barriss continued looking at her water for another minute before looking up at Vala with a smile. "Thank you Valanthe. You've given me quite a bit to consider there."

Riis smiled back, though not quite as sincerely. Practice made it seem that way. The young woman clearly had doubts and misgivings, despite what she was sure were the best possible teachings from the elder Mirialan. Was Luminara Unduli failing to truly see and hear her Padawan?

"Don't mention it, Barriss. I was glad to meet you and speak with you." _Did I make a mistake? Another one?_ Valanthe nodded.

"I as well, I hope we have many such opportunities in the future, I'd still very much like to hear your perspective on living outside the Jedi Order and what you've learned since leaving." It was tempting to just dive into those questions now, but Barriss didn't want to overstep.

"Since I don't know when I'll see you next," _or if,_ "ask your question," Valanthe offered.

"Okay...What's it like? Living outside the order? Away from everything you knew?" Barriss asked tentatively, not knowing when they'd get another chance and she didn't want to waste the question. There was just something about Valanthe, something that said when she was done, she was done.

"Scary, confusing, exceptionally different from the relative peace and security of the Temple," Valanthe said finally. "But...as with everything, one adapts. Learns. I am content with my life now. My goals and my work hadn't really changed all that much since I was a Jedi. I just work with non-Force sensitives now a lot more than before. Those experiences have been a treasure I don't think I could have attained in the Order. I still believe in the Order and what they stand for, mind you. I just...disagree with how they handle certain things."

"Oh... hmm that make sense." Barriss had expected to hear how freeing it was, how a weight was lifted from one's shoulders. Not that she felt a weight, just that if someone were to leave the peace and serenity of the Jedi, you'd think it would feel better. That's what she'd imagined when she'd thought about leaving just after she became a Padawan. "Was it worth it? The hardship?"

"Oh yes." Valanthe smiled, "remember what I said about gaining a greater understanding of the Force? While I now truly understand the need to meditate, I also understand that one can achieve balance only if they accept both sides of one self. The only way to control yourself and your abilities. You also gain a greater understanding of the people we protect, the non-Sensitives."

"Hmm I never thought of it that way either, how much more support we have at the Temple than we would otherwise. But if you found a better path by leaving the Order taking a more relaxed approach doesn't that mean there's some validity to changing the rigid structure we follow?"

"One path doesn't work for all. Leaving was mine, because my beliefs clashed with those of the Jedi. That doesn't mean their beliefs are wrong. They are simply different," Valanthe said, finishing her caf. "It is better for _me_. But that doesn't mean it would be better for someone else. Change will need to happen after the war. I'd like to believe the Jedi are aware of that and that they will set on a path towards it. I hope so for the Republic as well."

"I don't know if they are, the way some even among the Council treat the war and the clones." Barriss shook her head sadly. "It's like it has become routine, normality to them. If that's what happens after a few months, what happens after years of war?"

"Focus on the now, Barriss. Focus on what _you_ do. The rest will come into its own when it's meant to. Trust in the Force," Vala said, sighing a little. _She sees too clearly with too little guidance. I should talk to Luminara before I leave._

"I will Valanthe, I promise and I'll think about what you've said. It's quite a bit to take in, I'll need time I think to process it all," Barriss said with a graceful smile. It would be hard for her to figure out, but with the long journeys between missions and lots of meditation courtesy of Luminara, she had the time.

"May the Force be with you, Barriss Offee." Valanthe nodded as she stood up, "I should go gather my gear and say goodbye to your Master.

"May the Force be with you as well, Valanthe Riis, I hope our paths will cross again before too long." Barriss also stood and bowed as respectfully as the did when the pair first met.

With a respectful bow, Valanthe nodded once more to the younger woman and headed towards the door. It was beginning to feel as if events were unfolding around her faster than she could catch up. One pressure after another, deaths, worries, changed perspectives and doubts. Was the Force trying to show her something? Point out a pattern? If it was, she wasn't seeing it, not yet at least.

The _Tranquility_ would arrive on Coruscant in the next two hours, so she had a little time to speak with Luminara before departing.

 _Force, I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries. I respect Luminara, but Barriss' words trouble me._

Only the echo of her own footsteps came back in reply.


	18. Chapter 18: 7, 1313, Triple Zero

**A/N:** Certain terms, like Triple Zero and ARCA barracks belong to Karen Traviss, I'm just borrowing them for storyline effect. :)

* * *

 _ **Coruscant, Republic Ministry Of Intelligence, Detention Levels, Interrogation Room 7**_

"Good morning, Agent Riis." An aging Iridonian male greeted Valanthe as she stepped into the detention levels of the Republic Ministry Of Intelligence. "Apologies for the rough recall, we know your Felucia mission was extremely sensitive."

Vala nodded at him solemnly, "it's alright, Investigator Arren. It's procedure, given the nature of the change of allegiance."

 _And it gives me a chance to take a step back from everything and have a breather before I have to step back into the thick of it._ She really needed to speak with Lex, alone, preferably out of the office. If he could also get some time in with Renia, that would be a soothing balm on her soul. Her best friend had that sort of healing effect on her.

Valanthe refocused on the red skinned Iridonian with his golden tattoos and horns atop of his head. Though she had never personally worked with the man, Valanthe knew of him. He had a reputation as a strict, firm and very by the book officer. Villin Arren also had the reputation of being a fair man. This settled some of her unease about being back at HQ after so many months, with everything that had happened. With all the doubts that had began to fester in her mind.

Arren nodded, "very well. Let us step into number seven and be away with this formality."

He seemed almost embarrassed to have to do this, Valanthe could tell, but she wasn't quite sure why. So, she quietly nodded and stepped into interrogation room number seven and took a seat at the solitary table.

For all the advancements done over the centuries, somehow nothing beat the one table-two chairs setup of an interrogation room. Perhaps it was the barrenness of it that set people off kilter.

"Alright," Villin sat opposite her and took out a recording device and an info-pad. Turning the device on he spoke again, "Vetting session two. Vetting Officer - Villin Arren, Iridonian, rank: Investigator. Republic Ministry Of Intelligence."

He then turned the recording device on the table to face Valanthe. "For the record, state your full name, race, rank and government body you are employed with."

Leaning on her arms on the table, Valanthe spoke into the device, "Valanthe Riis, Mirialan, rank: Field Agent. Republic Ministry Of Intelligence."

"Thank you, Agent Riis. You are attached to the GAR Intelligence Division training division, yes?" Arren continued, tapping on his info-pad.

"That was my original assignment. It has since been expanded to include field missions with the clone troopers under my training. These assignments also included secondments to assist Jedi Generals." Vala said, her eyes focused on nothing in particular as she listened to his questions.

"I see. Are you aware one of the men you trained, a clone trooper, CT-4268, Sergeant Slick, had committed an act of treason against the Republic?" Arren glanced up from his pad.

An eyebrow quirked on the green woman's face, "the Christophsis mission? I am aware that he was swayed by the Dark Jedi, Asajj Ventress into performing the act."

"It was determined that it was your additional training that helped him stay under the radar of his commanding officers, Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Marshal Commander CC-2224, Commander Cody. As well as Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Captain CT-7567, Captain Rex. Can you tell me your thoughts upon learning this information?"

Valanthe frowned a little, wondering what exactly that particular incident had to do with the reason of her recall, Rendili joining the CIS. A small sliver of doubt entered her mind. Was that the _actual_ reason she was called in?

Still, she had to answer. She couldn't blame him for asking the hard questions. It was his job. "I felt a little ashamed that my training helped someone perform an act of treason against the institution we had sworn allegiance to. I have to say I felt a smidge of pride as well. He'd taken his training well and managed to evade detection of some of the keenest and sharpest minds of the GAR and the Jedi Order combined, but for all the wrong reasons, obviously," she said finally.

"Will this knowledge affect your own vetting and training procedures in the future?" Villin jotted down a note.

Riis nodded, leaning back in her seat a little. "The vetting procedures, definitely. I cannot afford another slip-up like that, risk another well trained individual being swayed to the enemy side, especially a Dark Force user."

She'd given it a lot of thought since she learned of the betrayal. Often she'd rehearse the conversation with Slick in her head, trying to understand why he fell under Ventress' spell. Valanthe knew though, she'd probably never get the chance to do so. Slick had probably been sent to Kamino for reconditioning nearly immediately after the Christophsis blockade. Or likely, he had met his end already.

Arren nodded, "the loss of your team on Felucia? How did that feel?"

Vala sighed bringing her thoughts back to the present, "it felt like a personal failure. I was their leader, the one that was supposed to keep them safe, bring them home. I failed….I mean, I know we're supposed to be detached and that the life of a spook is anything but safe. I know the clones' purpose in this war is singular. Fight and die for our victory. It's not that simple and it's a lot harder to ignore the fact that these are human beings with little or no concept of social culture and nuances. Children bred for war…" She stopped herself from going further, knowing her personal opinions tended to be a little different than those of the establishment, both the Jedi Order and RMOI.

"How has this influenced your future actions?" Arren projected nothing but calm outwardly, except a morsel of empathy, none of which showed in his features or posture.

"I must do better, _be_ better, more vigilant, take better care of those under my command, prepare for missions better, learn from each assignment, each failure." The emphatic words left her before she could stop herself.

Arren looked up from his pad, observing her for a moment. His face gave nothing away, nor his eyes. Just quiet study. Even the light brush of his mind with the Force revealed absolutely nothing. Clearly, he knew whom he was vetting and had prepared accordingly.

Valanthe felt both discomfort and a bit of pride as she realized he was shielding himself from her. Discomfort in so far that she could get no reading from him, something she was as used to as breathing, pride in the fact that he had honed in his shielding skill so well it worked on a Force user.

So, she looked up, her lilac eyes meeting his.

"Has anything changed in your perception of the RMOI or the Republic itself due to the recent events we discussed?" He asked finally.

 _And here comes the crux of it._ She held his eyes for a few moments longer, though not really looking _at_ him, but more through him.

"Yes...but I think that's to be expected. War changes people and their outlooks, especially when bad things happen, when you lose people." Vala said. "It hasn't changed my determination and my loyalty to the Republic and its people. It _has_ changed how I view certain elements now...the hidden truths of our trade and politics," her reply was soft, almost quiet.

Sounds of tapping on the pad gave away that her words had been acknowledged as she lowered her eyes. She was waiting for the inevitable question, one she couldn't ever adequately answer. Not to herself anyway.

"When did you learn about Rendili joining the CIS?" Arren asked, still as impassive as ever.

She let out a deep breath, "after I got off Felucia. In the news packet."

"How did it make you feel?" Villin looked over at her again.

Vala shrugged, "a little disappointed, really. But largely...indifferent. I hadn't been there in years."

"Was that the last time you saw your parents?"

 _Why does this whole interview feel scripted suddenly? Almost like you're fishing for a specific answer._ The brief thought coursed through her head.

"I haven't seen them nor spoken to them since I was four, when I was found by the Jedi Order and taken to Coruscant for training," she replied with a shrug.

"Do you think they could be CIS supporters?" Villin pressed.

Another shrug. "I don't know, to be honest. I can hardly remember their names, what they looked like, much less their personality. Like I said I hadn't seen them since I was four."

"Never had the desire after you left the Order and joined RMOI?"

 _What are you after, Arren?_

The Mirialan shook her head, "no. I don't know them, nor have had the desire to. Besides they could likely be dead, or believe that I am."

The Iridonian nodded. Then glanced up at her, his demeanor changing in the fraction of a second.

"Alright, Agent Riis. I believe I have all I need to make my decision. Thank you for your cooperation." He said, getting up from the table. "Once again, I do apologize for the rough deal you got out of this."

Valanthe shrugged it off, "it's alright, Investigator Arren. It's all in the purview of our work. Besides, you're just doing your job, as I must do mine."

He nodded at her simply as he gathered his equipment. "Director Night will contact you about the status of your assignment with RMOI shortly. Until then, I'm afraid you must remain on suspension."

She nodded as she too got to her feet. "Alright. Thank you, Mr. Arren. It was good to finally meet you."

He gave a small bow then proceeded to follow her out of the room. "Thank you, Ms. Riis. Though I would have wished it to be better circumstances."

"As do I, but alas the Force works in mysterious ways." Vala chuckled softly as they headed towards a lift.

"If you say so." He said somewhat awkwardly. Villin had never been overly spiritual. He accepted that some people, in particular the Jedi, believed in a cosmic concept called the Force, but he was never one to believe it existed.

It felt good to feel emotion coming from him again, even if it was polite awkwardness. Still she had no real answer but an amused chuckle as they entered a lift that had just arrived.

 _ **Coruscant, Level 1313, The Stinky Fish Bar, several hours later**_

She'd gotten the short, cryptic message about half an hour after she'd left the RMOI building. While her talk with Arren stirred up all the thoughts and feelings she was struggling to deal with, what concerned her more were the questions themselves. They'd felt too particular for a vetting procedure, especially from someone who'd never met her before and only worked off of what they knew from her's and her team's reports. Then again, it could have been the simple case of Arren knowing how to do his research extremely thoroughly. Which, when she thought about it, didn't really surprise her.

Vala almost didn't notice the short sound burst of her wrist com-device. When she activated the message, it said, ' _ **1313, Stinky Fish, 1800'**_. The voice was digitally changed to a tone and inflection that was not recognizable to the Mirialan.

"Twenty five minutes," she murmured to herself as she checked her chronometer.

Barely enough time to descent 1313 levels and find the place. By the name she had a good guess it was a bar or a diner of sorts. So, she found a side alley that appeared to be empty and took a deep breath, exhaled and drew upon the Force, shimmering out of sight of would be passerbys.

Level 1313 wasn't a level for anyone not of the criminal persuasion. No fresh air to speak of, streets littered with trash and debris. It was a haven for all manner of evil and criminal creature. Any and all races, any and all genders in any and all numbers. It was the perfect place to get lost in, conduct any nefarious or similar business one would like. It was also the perfect place to get killed in and never found.

Valanthe considered herself lucky in this moment to be able to walk the dim lit, dingy streets without being seen. She would be a high commodity on the local slave and item market. Mirialan, spy and in possession of a Jedi lightsaber. Any of those aspects would be very lucrative for the potential seller.

The _Stinky Fish_ was hard to notice in the seedy back alley to the right of the main street. She'd almost missed it when she passed by the alley. Opening her senses she stepped into the alley, trying to identify if there were any familiar presences nearby, in an attempt to figure out who it was that summoned her to the most unlikely location.

One presence shone brightly among the sea of unknowns.

 _Lex._ A pause in her thoughts as she approached the small establishment. _Why here, old friend?_ she wondered as she waited for an incoming customer to exit the small diner so she could slip in and find her former mentor and now boss.

She found him in the darkest corner, as expected. What she _hadn't_ expected was for him to look as sad and as dejected as he did. His age and the life of sitting behind a desk managing things were quite visible in this environment. Vala was glad she was still under the guise of the Force, because she felt sad for her friend and knew he didn't want to see her this way.

So, she stepped into the refresher, checked it was empty before she released the cloak of the Force around her that had made her invisible to the eye and took a deep breath. Leaning against the wall of the danky diner she exhaled slowly and centered herself before exiting the refresher and heading for Lex's table.

"You're late…" was his way of greeting, a small smile taking the edge off of the words as he looked up at her.

"Twenty minutes was hardly enough," she countered as she slipped into the seat opposite him, assuming a watchful position over his back, while he did the same for her. "You know how thorough Arren likes to be."

"You got him? Good." Lex Night nodded, turning his mug in his hands almost idly.

Valanthe leaned on her elbows, bringing herself closer to him and whispered, "talk to me, Lex. What's happened since I left? Nothing's been right."

He placed his hands on hers, smiling. "I know. I couldn't talk when you called. I'm being watched, so are several other division heads. GAR Intel is slowly taking over a lot of our cases. This includes your Balmorra run. That database never reached RMOI." He kept talking softly through the well practiced, but fake amorous expression he was giving her.

Valanthe rubbed her thumbs over the backs of his hands, echoing the same amorous yet fake look, "so unless we actually gain favor from someone in GAR Int, we're pretty much fekked on knowing what was in that database. Lex, why would they be so tight lipped? This was our case, our find?"

His eyes softened a fraction, "I think you know the answer to that."

She opened up her senses further, focusing on him. Every sense in him was screaming at her, _we stumbled onto something we shouldn't have. Some evidence the Republic doesn't want known._ Her lilac eyes dropped as she tried to contain herself again. Deep inside, she'd suspected this for a while, but she didn't want to admit it to herself.

There were stories, in all aspects of life where there were those who stumbled onto secrets that needed to be _handled_ afterwards. Punishments were meted out according to the gravity of the situation.

She'd heard of rogue Jedi in her years, like Master Syfo Dias, until she pretty much became one, one of the Lost Twenty. She'd also heard of rogue agents over the years, agents who suddenly disappeared or came back from certain missions changed, then left the service never to be seen again, or rarely so.

Did she walk herself and her team into a situation like that with the Balmorra mission? It certainly seemed that way. Her team's twice split, the brutal loss of three of her men on Felucia.

 _It's all still conjecture. Get it together, Valanthe! Keep an eye out, but don't get too paranoid until you actually have evidence. Follow the evidence._ She told herself mentally as she looked back up at Lex again, throwing on another perfect, yet fake smile.

"Sorry, I drifted off for a moment," she said finally, nodding slowly to indicate she understood his message.

"That's alright, dear," Lex chuckled with genuine fondness and reached over, gently cupping her cheek with his palm. "Be careful, okay?"

There was a hidden message there, _be careful of whom you trust, what you say, what you do._

She leaned into his palm, smiling. "I will. I promise."

She would be vigilant too. She would gather information, she would observe, she would be patient. She would do what good she could in her position. Then she would analyze and produce actionable intelligence. Then she'd talk to those above her and see what could be done. For all she knew it could be a case of a corrupt official or few. That she could deal with, that she _had_ dealt with. If it wasn't though…

 _Stop! Get out of your head!_ Vala chastised herself. "You should go," she told him softly.

Lex nodded, "I'll contact you in a few days with news on your interview."

The Mirialan nodded turning her face a little into his palm and placing a soft kiss on it with a smile.

"Alright. I'll have some food before I go," she said, settling back into her seat. They needed to leave separately, to minimize the chances of both getting into trouble at the same time and to keep up the pretense.

Lex stood up with a nod, "I'll pay for yours as well. What will you have?"

"The nuna stir fry, extra on the spice and Galaxy Cola, thanks, dear," she beamed up at him, suddenly realizing just how hungry and how exhausted she was.

The man nodded and headed for the counter to pay for their orders. Valanthe watched after him for a few moments as he paid the tab and turned to her with an encouraging smile before exiting the diner.

 _You be careful too, Lex._ She thought sadly as she turned to her wrist com and tapped in a message: _**On Triple Zero, caf?**_ Triple Zero was military slang for Coruscant, based off of its spatial coordinates which were 000.

With the message sent, she leaned back in her chair again as her order was swiftly delivered. She opened the can of Galaxy Cola first and took a long gulp. It was sweet and it was fizzy and it felt so much more soothing than she could have imagined.

 _ **Jedi Temple, Courtyard**_

It was good to be back at the Temple, Renia honestly couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd been back. Weeks…? Months…? Regardless it had been far too long, the serenity she often felt here before the war felt alien...strange. She had spent much of the first day wandering around, seeing people, friends all the while trying to forget about the larger war. Trying...so far with ever clone she saw or armored knight she couldn't help but remember Sermeria.

That's how she ended up here, meditating under the large tree at the center of the courtyard, trying to block out the rest of the world while listening to the tree. When she was little Ren swore that she could hear it talking to her at certain moments, ones of deep clarity but those had been far and few between in the last few years. She'd been hoping that today of all days she'd be able to slip into one. However after about an hour she was starting to think that it wasn't going to happen.

Feeling the wind starting to whip across her face, Ren was about to give up when her wrist communicator beeped. _Maybe that's why I couldn't concentrate, I'm still tied into the rest of the world._ Pulling up her message, Ren smiled widely. The message was short and cryptic and DEFINITELY from Vala. Quickly abandoning her meditations and plans for the rest of the afternoon Ren typed out her reply. _**Of course, when and where?**_

 _ **Skydome Botanical Gardens in Fobosi in an hour?**_ Came a reply a few minutes later. _ **I need some clean air.**_ Came an addition moments later.

The Skydome Botanical Gardens was a complex in the Fobosi District of Coruscant. It was the headquarters for the Order of the Canted Circle. It was also where the New Republic held a reception for Ambassador Furgan of Carida. Constructed during the Old Republic by a wealthy Galactic News Service philanthropist, the gardens displayed exotic and endangered flora within a rooftop terrarium. The Carnivorous Plants section was of special note, and the Gardens themselves were often host to dignitary meetings.

 _ **Sounds perfect, I'll see you there in an hour.**_ Ren was already up from her meditations and walking quickly toward the residential wing of the temple. Wanting to take a quick shower and change her robes, Ren's day had just about completely turned around.

 _ **Skydome Botanical Gardens, Fobosi District, an hour later**_

The Gardens were a most welcome change from the dim, danky, depressing streets of Level 1313. She couldn't however complain about her lunch though. The nuna stir fry had been surprisingly good. Or was she just that hungry that it felt good no matter what? Either way, that was probably the one part of that visit that filled her with some positivity. She'd also grabbed a pack of caf-on-the-go for herself and Renia as she transited into CoCo Town, also known as CoCo District, which was a commercial district located in the upper levels of Coruscant.

Lex's message while not loud, had been clear. Things were afoot that were dangerous and if not careful, she could get wrapped up in them with no way out. Part of her almost wished for the naivete she'd once possessed as a young Jedi. Somehow, things seemed easier then, even with all the restrictions.

The gardens and she almost melded together, what with her skin tone matching most of the foliage in the botanical heaven. She picked a spot beside a small pond towards the back of the gardens where the air was crispest, coldest. Somehow the cold managed to seep away some of her concern as she waited for Renia to arrive.

For as long as it had been since Ren had been back on Coruscant, it had been multitudes longer since she'd been to the gardens. It was nice to be amongst nature, her senses bursting with life instead of the hard metal of the rest of Galactic City. This is what Ren imagined the wilds on her homeworld were like...alive. One of these days she really needed to explore Onderon, if they got out of this war that is.

Deciding to wander through the gardens, her senses open to what was around her, Ren soon found herself standing next to a pond her green skinned friend sitting serenely on the other side. Despite all that had happened recently something about her friend seemed more serene than normal. "Hey, great place you picked here."

"I like the mist of the water droplets…" Vala chuckled as she beckoned Renia over. "Glad to see I made it before you were reassigned again," she said, extending a portable mug of caf to her.

"The Council thought it best that Mina and I take some time to recuperate away from the war. It also gives our troops more time to get some training in, a lot of them are very green." Renia said as she took the mug and sat down next to Vala enjoying the light cold spray of the water landing on her cheeks. "The water is lovely."

"I bet they're getting some tough love from No-Nines and Oddball." Vala chuckled as she opened the lid of her own mug, reluctant to let the light atmosphere go too quickly.

"Oh of course, they're having quite the time leading the training. Frost of course is overseeing it all but he's smart enough to let those two handle the day to day." Despite the Council's wishes Renia had peeked in on a couple of the training sessions, even participating in one of them. Mina hadn't entirely approved disobeying the Council, but Ren was sure she understood why it was important. "Fives and Echo have been quite the help as well."

"Eager for a promotion to ARC those two." A soft snort escaped Vala as she took a sip of the surprisingly quite good caf. "I'm grounded for an indeterminate amount of time, so I should have some time to come visit them, unless they decide I'm loyal enough sooner."

There it was, it escaped her sooner than she'd wished and it annoyed her. Why was it Renia always unravelled her tongue so? She could hold her peace against the toughest opponents, yet Renia simply had to be there and Valanthe felt like sharing.

Sighing with resignation, Vala risked a glance at Renia.

"I'm sure they'll figure it out, if there's even half a brain between your Directors they'll be able to see you're as loyal as I am. Of course we are dealing with bureaucrats..." Renia hated seeing Vala like this, doubted maybe even doubting herself. It was far less than her friend deserved, she'd already given up so much for the Republic. "At least there's one good thing to come from all this, you and I get to spend some time together here just like the old days."

"Small victories, eh?" That was why. Renia had a way of making people feel better. "You ever been to Level 1313?"

"No, although I've heard stories about it," Ren said taking a small sip of her caf, giving the mug a second look as the flavor hit her tongue. Most things made to go weren't this good. "Most of what I've heard makes Tatooine practically look respectable."

"Mmm, pretty much. Had a damn good nuna stir fry there earlier. Had to talk to a CI." Vala nodded, taking another sip, "it's a good place to disappear in if you need to get away, to hide, or get off the planet."

She couldn't share her conversation with Night, she knew that, but she could hint to her friend. Or try to at least. Such stark revelations were more of a danger to the Jedi than help, yet the former Jedi wanted to do nothing more than share the full story. Life was so ironic sometimes.

"It's strange, being on my own again, now that we've been split up. I keep waiting for the boys to come around the corner," Vala admitted, sighing.

"I know what you mean, for months I was around more clones and military officers than I had been my entire life. I got to know them, they became friends, many more than comrades...now we're separated and those I've felt closest to my entire life seem more alien than the men grown in a lab." Renia didn't quite like how that sounded, she probably could have done a better job articulating herself. But the meaning was there, Vala would understand.

"I know what you mean. Walking the halls of RMOI today...I felt like more of an outsider than ever," Riis admitted, glancing over at the Onderonian woman. "Can you imagine it ending, us going to our old lives…"

 _You've dug too deep to go back to your old life as if nothing happened and you know it. Even if you don't cop the flak for it, the universe has changed, it cannot and will not be as it once was._ Thoughts ran through the Mirialan's head as she waited for an answer.

"I…" Renia started, her voice trailing off as she looked down at herself for a moment. Her unique style of dress had always been a point of pride with her. The designs representing a people and spirituality she'd never known but grew up hearing about, even the colors the deep and varying blues were meant to reflect that. But this, dream of a child that had she'd carried through to adulthood had been changed by the war.

A Republic Military communicator sat on her wrist along with armored gauntlets...even her lightsabers were a tool of war now, instead of peace. "Honestly I don't know, I don't think I can go back to who I was a year ago. I'd like to think so, that I can just explore the galaxy again, teach Mina the ways of the Force...but…"

"It feels empty now, that old life...almost. But I guess this is what the Force wants us to learn...change. How to accept change and flow with it." Another sip of the caf. "I think I may go into private business after the war is over."

"I don't know if empty is how I feel about it, we did a lot of good back then...I just don't know if I fit in that mold. Like I'm not...worthy? Is that the right word? Like after so much war and destruction and killing I can't see the galaxy in that light anymore." _There's just too much grey now…_ "Maybe I need to think about what I'll do after the war...I don't think private business is for me."

Vala nodded solemnly, "either way, let's not lose each other for years again, hm? Maybe we can do something for the boys after the war. If the Senate allows it, obviously. You know, help those we can."

"I'd like that." Ren said with a soft smile, her hand lightly resting on Vala's. "Maybe even get a few more Jedi onboard, help heal the Order, help them to see the clones as more…" Perhaps they would be able to help the clones become more, give them a full life.

"Just….stay alive. Listen to your gut...or the Force, either." A green, tattooed hand grasped Renia's free one. "Trust your instincts." Spirits, she wished she could say more.

"I will, I always do...Vala what's wrong?" Ren asked turning to fully face the other woman, a concerned look on her face as she searched Valanthe's features for some clue. Something was definitely up, of course they both worried about each other, but this...this was different.

Riis sighed as she faced Renia, "I can't…" she opened, then closed her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she tried again to be vague yet tell her at the same time. "Remember when I told you, back on the _Resolute_ how I felt strange things were at work?"

"Of course, I was sitting up for days worrying about your review after that," Ren said with an embarrassed smile. She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone else but if she couldn't be a bit vulnerable with Vala who else could she.

"It's turning out to be more than a feeling…" Valanthe squeezed Renia's hand a little harder, as if to convey the depth of her concern. "I don't have conclusive evidence yet, but things are moving in strange patterns, for inexplicable reasons."

"Well I'd like to think it's just the war talking and that we should wait for evidence before jumping to conclusions...but I know you well enough to not need evidence when your instincts are screaming the alternative." Ren really wished that Vala was wrong, it would make things simpler...clearer. They would be the good guys like in the stories of old, the grand Republic out to keep the galaxy free. But the more she looked into it, the more she listened to Vala...even the more time she spent at the Temple it seemed less and less, that was the reality.

"I can't tell you details for your own safety. But I'll tell you this, keep _flimsi trails_ of everything. You never know when one day, it could be crucial." Oh how she wished now she'd had Stick make a copy of the missing database, perhaps she could then know the depth of the mess she felt she was walking into.

"Sounds like something Master Di would have said." It was hard to hear the strain and worry in her friend's voice, whatever had her so concerned certainly wasn't something to take lightly. "I understand and I will. I've already got a few of those stashed away...I just hoped I wouldn't need to add any for a long time."

"I know, me neither. Believe me. I have my logs and my reports, but they can be taken away at any point for any reason." Valanthe nodded, leaving unsaid that haunting thought, _and I've had it happen already._

Vala took a deep breath, then exhaled, "I'm sorry...we were meant to have a nice chat before you went back to your duties and I went….home," she said, smiling sheepishly.

"It's alright, after everything you've gone through recently I understand needing to unload a bit." Renia had done very much the same with Vala and then Obi-Wan after Sermeria, the least she could do was to be there for her friend as well. "And we still can of course, I don't have many duties besides checking in on some of the older groups of younglings who are getting ready for their Gatherings."

Vala took a long sip of her coffee, grinning. "Do you remember ours? Seems another lifetime ago now."

"More like two if you ask me." Renia relied with a laugh. "It's hard to even imagine we were ever that young. I was so scared, especially when everyone split up...you know at one point I almost cried out for you? Went back along my path just so I wouldn't be on my own."

"Aw, really?" Vala chuckled, "I felt like I was on an archaeological quest, needing to find the treasure. I loved it. Even if it meant swimming through that ice cold water. But when I got it, when I saw how vibrant green it was...one of the best feelings. I'm sorry you felt scared, ferith."

"It's ok, I think it was actually really good for me, since I had to get over those feelings on my own…Once I finally got over it, I had quite a bit of fun as well and I don't think I've seen many worlds even half as beautiful as those caves." Ren wished she could go back, take some time to walk through the serenity of the ice.

"Did you ever feel the call of another crystal?" Vala asked, sipping the last morsels of her coffee.

"Not that I know of, but I don't think so." Ren said as one of her hands glided across the hilt of her main hand saber. Both were the original sabers she'd built aboard the _Crucible_ under Professor Huyang's ever watchful eye, it was hard to imagine changing them. "Honestly I think my connection to them have gotten stronger over the years...more attuned."

Vala nodded slowly, "I've felt pulls, over the years, two or three times. Once on Jedha and once on Dantooine. It wasn't the same type of pull when we were on the Gathering. It was more...letting me know it existed. I don't know if I can explain that better…"

"I think I understand, I've felt the pull of the Force before...what you describe reminds me of the feeling I had when I first found Gungi on Kashyyyk. Although that time I wasn't able to ignore it…" Master Di had been furious with her, traipsing off through the village and eventually finding herself in the Shadowlands, it had all worked out in the end but that still hadn't absolved her of her transgression. "Jedha makes sense, the Force is strong there. I've always wanted to visit the temple."

"It's unlike any of the other temples. Ancient, full of mystique, full of questions. The Guardians of the Whills are more of a Jedi's distant cousins than Jedi themselves. I liked talking to the one that was there when I poked my head in. An old man, reminded me much of the late Master Qui-Gon." Vala said with a grin. "If I didn't know better I'd say they'd been cut from the same cloth those two."

"It sounds amazing," Renia mused smiling at the memory of Qui-Gon. Growing up she'd had several opportunities to interact with the somewhat...unorthodox Jedi Master. His ways were often quite different from many of the other Jedi at the Temple, but they were always thought provoking. Knowing what she did now, there was little doubt in her mind that those kind of men and women were exactly who should be teaching the young, getting them to think for themselves.

When Renia was younger she'd often hoped her own Master would be like him and Master Di certainly hadn't disappointed. Even after taking her own Padawan she'd tried to continue what the two men had taught her. With both of them being one with the Force now, it was comforting to know there were others around as ornery as they were.

"We'll have to go some time, it sounds like the perfect place to go and get away from the wider galaxy."

"It's a bustling city of nomads and miscreants, make no mistake." Vala grinned, "but sure, I'd love to revisit it. I must take you a delicious little place too, fantastic food at affordable prices and the caf is the best on this side of the Correlian Trade Spine hyperlane."

"Well what girl can resist the offer off fantastic food and good caf?" Renia teased as she took a sip of the to-go. Nomads and miscreants wouldn't be anything new to her, the early part of both their lives had been spent around them. In a way it would be a comfort, like slipping into an old leather jacket.

"Hey, the Jedi have some strange women, you have to admit. Luminara and her Padawan for example. They transported me over…" Vala chuckled softly, "the Padawan has questions, the Master doesn't register them."

Turning her head to the side a bit Renia tried to decipher just what Vala meant. Luminara could sometimes be rather...aloof to the little interpersonal things. Thinking about it all it didn't really surprise her that Luminara was missing different signals from her Padawan. "I take it you did however?" Renia grinned knowing the answer already.

Vala grinned, shrugging with fake modesty, "you know me, I have a gift. Barris...she's, like me in a way. I just hope Luminara realizes it in time and steers her correctly, like Master Sinube did with me. I dropped a few hints with her before I disembarked, as respectfully as I could. She's a good person, Luminara, but thinks she knows best too often."

"I can't disagree with you there, I don't think I've ever found my footing with her. But I think she'll be good for Barriss assuming she doesn't ignore your warning. I've only met the young woman once but I liked her, I guess I know why." Renia grinned back with a small wink.

"I felt a bit bad though. I'm a stranger and she's her Master and a renowned Jedi, I felt a bit hypocritical insinuating that her Padawan needed to be tended to more." The Mirialan finished her coffee with a shrug. "I know how I'd feel if someone, especially an outcast from the Order, said anything about my Padawan, you know?"

Suddenly the weight of the day impacted her and she felt tired. She yawned rather surprisingly loudly, covering her mouth with her tattooed hand.

"Sorry...I guess my adrenaline reserves have finally worn off," Riis admitted sheepishly.

Renia nodded as Vala yawned, she had to admit that if she were in Luminara's shoes, having an outsider comment on how her Padawan was doing would be off putting to say the least. But she'd like to think that she wouldn't ignore the situation.

"It's ok, from the sound of it you've been going pretty much non-stop since you arrived." Renia couldn't help but sympathize, the first few days she'd been back were more than a bit of an ordeal. "If you like we can meet up again later. It's not like either of us is going anywhere, anytime soon."

Valanthe nodded as she got to her feet gingerly, feeling her joints and hips complain. "I'd love to. I think I'll drop by ARCA barracks one day too. We can meet up there and see where we end up?"

"I'd like that." Renia had been meaning to stop by and check on her troops soon. The Council had wanted her to spend most of her time at the Temple but they wouldn't object now that she'd been back for awhile. "I think the clones will as well, they like you and, well...they were worried about you."

Valanthe waved it off, "oh please, they don't know me that well."

One thing with Valanthe was, she never could take worry nor praise well.

"I'll get in touch soon then." The Mirialan looked over at her longtime friend, "may the Force be with you, my friend."

"And may the Force be with you as well." Ren couldn't help but let out a light chuckle at Valanthe's misplaced modesty. It was comforting to know that somethings would never change, even if she hoped that Vala would one day be able to accept a compliment without wanting to run from it.

Valanthe grinned at her, bowing somewhat awkwardly in a traditional Jedi manner before the two parted ways. As always of late, when she walked away from Renia she felt a tug around her heart, a desire to stay, spend more time with her, never quite sure why.

 _ **==Coruscant, Housing Block 'Chorathon', Apartment B-21, an hour later==**_

Climbing up the staircase brought strange feelings to her. There was a comfortable familiarity to the steps and to the halls as she ascended to level B, but also a sense like she should be elsewhere, like she didn't belong there anymore.

 _Have the last few months changed me that much?_ Quiet thoughts ran through her head as she approached her door.

21-B, it said. So familiar, yet at the same time, just as unfamiliar. Tapping a panel with her right hand, it slid aside and revealed a palm scanner and a biometrics scan. Leaning closer she let the green light scan her retina, then let the palm print do its own scan.

 _ **IDENTITY CONFIRMED: AGENT CASSANDRA. LOCK RELEASED.**_ It said on the display as her door slid open. She tapped the panel back and it slid into place.

Valanthe took a deep, calming breath and stepped inside the darkened apartment. The door locked behind her with a click and a hiss. Reaching over she turned on the lights, revealing things exactly as she'd left them, except coated in layers of dust.

Where once it felt like her comfortable little cave, now it felt lonely and cold.

It didn't feel like home anymore.

 _But why?_

 **END OF ACT 1**


	19. Chapter 19: Clone Mess

**A/N:** Hello everyone and welcome to Act 2 of The Cloaked Storm. In this chapter, we visit the clones point of view on certain events in Act 1 and and see what happened to Valanthe after her return to Coruscant.

* * *

 **ACT 2**

 _ **ARCA Barracks, Coruscant, several weeks later**_

To say Fives and Echo were excited would be putting it very mildly. They had finally made it. ARC Trooper Fives and ARC Trooper Echo. Now they were back on Coruscant, awaiting reassignment, or rather assignment. While still technically members of the famed 501st, as ARC Troopers they could be called away at any time by the Special Operations Division which they were also a part of by achieving the new rank.

After reporting to their new General, the two were given brief leave until their new assignments were up as he had to get in contact with Captain Rex and General Skywalker to ascertain if the two newest ARCs were needed by the 501st, or if Special Operations could utilize them. Even though Special Ops would take precedence, when dealing with Skywalker and the 501st, the Special Ops General learned that his 501st counterpart always took precedence.

"I hope we get assigned to General Skywalker again, or General Vinree. I liked working with them," said Echo, unable to hide a grin on his face. "Or even Commander Riis. Remember Sermeria?"

Fives laughed loudly, "oh vod, how could I not. Best piece of action we got since Kamino!"

Echo chuckled, readjusting his helmet under his arm, "I'm not so sure it's the action that stayed with you as much as something else. Or should I say someo….hey! Ow!" he wailed amusedly as he got elbowed by a growling Fives. "Easy vod, I was just giving you haran."

True to himself, Fives recovered quickly, grinning, "I know, but you and I both know that kind of talk is not for just any ears."

Fives trusted Rex, Jesse, and Kix from the 501st implicitly as he did No-Nines and Oddball from the 442nd. He knew they would not sell a brother out for having untoward thoughts. Sure they would caution him and all, but none of them would turn him into a superior. He knew Echo wouldn't either. So he was a little surprised when Echo went on to joke about...her, in public.

Her...green skin, lilac eyes and lovely b...tattoos. He wasn't sure why Commander Riis stuck in his mind like she did. He had only really seen her for a little while and aside from the talk in the Mess Hall with Echo and that...hug, he didn't really have much interaction with her. Haran, he had tons more interaction with General Vinree in the subsequent weeks during the final training stages for ARC trooper at the facilities on Coruscant, yet she did not ensnare him at all. That was not to say the dual-blade-wielding General was any less alluring than the green Commander. It was just...he couldn't really explain it, to himself or to anyone.

"So, do you think Captain Rex picked up any more antics from General Skywalker while we were away?" He derailed the subject easily as they entered into the Mess Hall.

Echo grinned, "I'm sure he's had plenty of time. Besides, the missions only get more dangerous as the war continues on. But then again, you can ask him yourself," he said, pointing over to a long table occupied by none other than Rex, Jesse, Kix and Hardcase.

It was Hardcase who caught sight of them and was waving them over.

"Well look at you two, proper ARC Troopers finally," Jesse called, grinning as he extended his arm to Fives.

The ARC grasped his forearm firmly, in traditional Mandalorian greeting, as did Echo and the two joined their friends from the 501st.

"ARC Troopers." While his tone was Rex's usual calm self, there was clear pride lacing it as well as his expression as he nodded at the two young troopers. "Good job on your training, men. Your trainers showed me your scores, well done."

"Thanks, Captain. It means a lot." Echo grinned as he sat next to Kix.

"I hear you had part of your training here on Coruscant before returning for the final tests on Kamino?" the 501st medic asked, glancing between the two.

Fives nodded as he set his helmet on the table beside him. "Yeah, General Vinree's ARCs were asked to step in while they were on down time. Really put us through the works. Loved it, those lads play tough."

Hardcase laughed. "Got to play with those beautiful new rotary cannons?"

"Damn straight, and the new sniper rifles too and the new jetpacks. Much more maneuverable than our old kits." Fives smirked as he stole a chip from Jesse's plate. "What's the 501st been up to, hmm?"

Jesse elbowed him playfully before nudging the plate over to him. "Few classified things, Senate murders, been more of a down time for us than some of us would have liked," he said with a chuckle, giving a knowing look to Hardcase who seemed to squirm under it.

"You know me, I prefer good action to _investigatory work._ " The blue tattooed trooper made a face which caused the group to laugh even more.

The group roared with laughter and soon jumped into retelling old and new stories, filling each other in on events. So it was that the 501st learned in more depth of Sergeants No-Nines and Oddball, fellow ARC Troopers serving with the 442nd under General Vinree and the antics they would get up to. Though in truth, Fives and Echo spoke with great respect of the elder ARCs, citing them as people whom they'd learned a lot from.

"So...tell me, been to '79's yet?" Jesse asked, waggling his eyebrows. "I remember stories you told of what you'd do there once you made ARC."

Echo chortled softly, "we're not sure where we're assigned to yet. We were going to contact you when we did, get the old group together."

"You _will_ behave yourselves, I'm not having GAR's finest landing in a cell with drunk and disorderly charges." Rex grumbled, remembering several previous outings, casting a suspicious glare at Hardcase who seemed all too eager to join the future outing.

"Of course, Captain. Have we _ever_ embarrassed you?" Jesse couldn't help a smug question.

"Some of you, yes," came Rex's even reply.

This brought another roar of laughter to the table. Kix got up to fetch Echo and Fives a plate of food and drinks, trying to contain his laughter in the process.

"Uh..yeah, we'll put a call out if we get the time, sure." Fives managed finally, hoping that he didn't sound as awkward about it as he felt.

It wasn't that he was shy about it or uncertain, it had been the subject of many of his stories back in his shiney days. Now that he'd finally achieved the coveted status, he somehow didn't feel the urge to show off to the fairer gender nearly as much as he thought he would. But reputation as the daring rogue needed to be maintained.

"What's the matter, Fives, you seem less enthusiastic about it than I thought you'd be?" Hardcase chuckled, "I'm pretty certain the Twi'lek girls would love to take a look at your _new armour._ " He winked at the tattooed ARC.

"And they will, vod. They will. Duty first though." Fives winked back, grinning, though it never quite reached his amber eyes.

Fives was a poor liar and everyone knew it. Noone more so than Echo, his closest brother. He was pretty certain the reason Fives was being flaky on his earlier claims was because blue was no longer his favorite colour on a female. Or rather that green was his new favorite. Fives kept denying it every time he'd poked on the subject. Echo, the vod everyone tended to brush off due to his 'echoing', remembered. He remembered the look on Fives' face when he came back to their berth when Commander Riis left for Felucia. It was a look that soon disappeared, tucked away somewhere in deep, private recesses of his brother's mind, but Echo saw it. Echo remembered it. Echo wanted that look on his brother's face back.

For that briefest of moments, Fives seemed complete, happy even. Echo wasn't sure if those were even the right words for what he'd seen. They seemed right though. He knew that Fives would completely clamp down about it of he even hinted at it, or the possibility of there being someone that wasn't part of the 'assorted entertainment' provided by the '79's establishment. Both he and Fives perused the services of the very friendly women there a few times. Echo himself was never too smitten with any of them, but he wouldn't deny himself the experience either. He never thought Fives had been either, though his brother always seemed keener on impressing them, for some reason.

"Well well, look who we have here!" A red-haired clone, his hair just on that side of flop, stopped by their table. "Finally made ARC, did you?"

The group of clones in blue markings focused their attention on the clone in typical dark garb of the Intelligence branches, their expressions revealing their displeasure of being interrupted in such a manner. Hardcase may have even growled quietly.

"Don't remember me, do you?" While the red haired clone's tone was cold, there was a snide note to it nonetheless.

Fives narrowed his eyes at him, trying to place the brother. He was sure he'd seen him somewhere before. The tone was what was sticking with him most. Where had he seen him?

Images flashed through his brain of a ride in General Skywalker's ship, the Twilight.

 _Of course._ He leaned his elbows on the table, smirking, "you'd be Lieutenant Burner. Commander Riis second. Tough call on Felucia there. We've seen the reports."

Echo nodded approvingly, while it took a few extra moments for Rex to remember the clone having a staring contest with Fives and Echo.

"Is there something we can help you with, Lieutenant?" Rex asked evenly, not quite appreciating the fellow clone's tone towards his men. Fives and Echo may have been on shifting assignments and all, but they were still his men.

"Nothing, sir. I just wanted to see if the brothers who kept my Commander occupied when she should have been elsewhere actually amounted to something in all this time. After all they'd rather be ARC's than Intelligence," Burner quipped, keeping his tone barely polite, the snide note taking on a harder edge.

Rex raised a single eyebrow as if daring Burner to say more.

"As I recall _you_ were elsewhere too," Fives jabbed back, his eyes narrowing. "Come on, vod, that mess was no one's fault, you know this. The Commander didn't have much more choice in joining us on an extraction mission than you did with the package escort to Coruscant."

He'd neglected to mention, of course that Commander Riis had practically volunteered to join the extraction of General Vinree. He knew that would set the irate clone off further.

"Bad calls happen in all branches of the GAR, brother." Echo extended a calming hand towards Burner.

"Yeah...bad calls." Burner gave a bitter chuckle, "you haven't seen bad calls yet. You're lucky you have a capable Jedi leading you."

Fives' gauntleted hands crackled as they tightened into fists. _You fekkin' chakaar. Don't you know how concerned she was for you? How_ _she checked every morsel of information over and over, to keep apprised of your progress?_

The ARC said nothing however. He was smart enough to know it would only set the dangerous Intelligence officer off.

"You came back mostly intact though," Echo tried again, his hand withdrawing as he glanced sideways at Fives.

"Lieutenant, is there a point you're trying to make?" Rex stood up to his full height, which admittedly was the exact same of the others. His commanding, no-nonsense presence, however, made up for it.

It caused Burner to straighten up as well. "You'll see soon enough, sir," he said.

Turning on his heel he stalked off to the far side of the room with his tray.

Rex sat back down after a few moments of glaring after the red-headed clone.

"What _was_ that just now?" Kix couldn't help himself as he sat back down with two trays which he put in front of the two ARC's.

Fives relaxed his hands, sighing, "his team had a really bad run on Felucia. We can't go into details, but it was really bad. I just don't understand why he's having a go at us for it. As if it was us who somehow influenced outcomes."

"Perhaps it was something the Commander said to them?" Rex offered, looking between his men.

Fives and Echo shrugged in unison. Fives had wanted to say that he was sure that she wouldn't do such a thing. The other part of him was all too aware that he didn't really know her that well and it was highly possible she may have said or done something to make her men feel this jaded. Purposefully or not, that was a whole different debate. The rational part of Fives knew that he really had no way of knowing unless he somehow got the opportunity to ask the Commander herself. Even then, he knew it was highly possible she wouldn't tell him. Or anyone.

"Oh well, intelligence types, always a weird bunch." Hardcase chuckled as he finished the rest of his food.

"Dangerous too...I read the Chrystophsis reports. Slick did a boatload of damage there," said Jesse.

"Ugh, don't remind me. The run around he gave Cody and myself, the damage he did…" Rex muttered, a dark look passing over his eyes as he returned to his meal too.

"The damage he did pales in comparison to the wreck these two left of the training grounds after their final tests!" Oddball announced loudly as he came up behind the two newly minted ARCs, his hands coming down hard on their armored shoulders, a large grin plastered across his face despite the somewhat somber subject his fellow clones had been discussing. Oddball, as always believed he knew what was best and in his mind changing the subject was what these boys needed...if only for a moment.

Especially after he and No-Nines had passed that rather disagreeable little man with the gaudy red hair in the hall. Neither ARC knew who the clone was but neither had any doubt that they didn't like him. His partner in crime certainly wouldn't disagree with Oddball's motives even if he vehemently disagreed with the direction he'd chosen.

Echo and Fives roared with laughter to cover for the slight twitch of surprise they were caught with.

Jesse, Kix, and Hardcase looked at each other for a moment in confusion before they joined in the laughter too.

Rex chuckled, glancing at the two ARC's in green. "Good to see you again, No-Nines, Oddball," he said, gesturing towards his men, "Jesse, Kix and Hardcase, Torrent Company, 501st." He then gestured towards the newcomers, "Sergeants Oddball and No-Nines, ARCs seconded to General Vinree."

"Join us, please." Echo motioned to the free seats, "we just flew back in from Kamino."

"Ah yes and we heard that the service clones were glad to see your shuttle finally leave," Oddball said with a grin and a laugh directed toward the other clones as he sat down, figuratively and literally ribbing Fives.

"Apparently they're still cleaning things up, a whole battalion's training had to be delayed," No-Nines added as he too took a seat. They might have been stretching the truth a bit, but as a wise man once said ' _all good stories deserved some embellishment.'_ "I pity those boys...almost as much as I do the clankers."

Fives nearly choked with laughter as the two piled on the _truth._ He'd always been fond of the two ARCs for their humor and the usually surprising professionalism beneath it one never quite expected. He certainly remembered his own reaction and that of Echo and the Commander when they learned Oddball of all people was a technical specialist.

"So, what are you two doing here? I thought the 442nd would have been deployed by now?" Rex asked, trying to contain his own laughter while the others didn't have such luck and continued laughing.

"We're taking a bit of extra time to train up our new troops while the General and Commander spend some time at the Jedi Temple. As General Vinree put it, they've been put on mediative sabbatical," No-Nines replied, keeping Oddball from putting his particular brand of embellishment on this story; his fellow ARC having little love for the Jedi Council. "Should be coming to a close soon."

Rex nodded, "we're waiting for assignment ourselves. This much down time is practically unheard of." Not that Rex actually had any real precedent. He just didn't like this much down time.

Fives chuckled, "well we're raring to go ourselves."

"So much enthusiasm, I can't decide if that's a good thing or not," Oddball wondered aloud as he tapped his chin.

"Of course it is, why wouldn't enthusiasm be a good thing?" No-Nines asked turning to give his brother an almost conspiratorial look.

"Well you do remember the General's communique don't you? About coming down to inspect the troops tomorrow…"

"Oh yes of course, how could I possibly have forgotten? Didn't she also mention something about a special guest? One who'd be interested in meeting with _all_ the troopers involved in their training?"

"You know, No-Nines, I think you may just be right. I do vaguely remember something like that," Oddball said as the two senior ARCs turned to look at their newly minted comrades.

Rex raised an eyebrow that clearly spelled, _uh huh._ Being a seasoned veteran of many a battle and many a social event, he could tell a joke being pulled when he saw one.

Jesse, Hardcase and Kix leaned closer, eager to hear who would be inspecting and possibly grilling their friends. Fives and Echo did so cautiously.

"Special guest? It's not General Thirsan is it?" Echo wondered. Jedi General Rak Thirsan was a burly Iridonian man, who was in charge of Special Operations for the GAR and had a reputation of being a hard, stern man. They had yet to meet him.

Fives however narrowed his eyes at the two older ARCs. There was something in their tone that spoke of someone that would have far more impact on them. He just couldn't figure out whom, and why would General Vinree keep it under wraps?

"Hmm Thirsan...Thirsan it's not ringing a bell…" Oddball said with an over exaggerated tap of a finger on his chin before looking at No-Nines, the senior ARC giving a small chuckle before joining in.

"Thrifty Thirsan? No I don't think so, doesn't have much to do with our battalion these days."

Now Echo and Fives both raised eyebrows.

"What are you on about, you two?" Rex pushed, now more amused than annoyed at their antics.

"Us? Oh nothing, just informing our fellow troopers that someone with a...vested interest in the well being of our unit would be coming by and that these two should be in attendance," No-Nines said almost too innocently.

Rex chuckled. It sounded more like rumbling gravel than a chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless. "I see. Well ARC Troopers, you best be in attendance tomorrow. When is this inspection?"

Fives and Echo glanced at Rex in mild horror, knowing the type of antics Oddball and No-Nines were capable of. Sure, what they were saying could be a legitimate thing easily. But it could also be a prank by the older clones. Now Rex was joining in on this.

 _We're fekked._ The two thought in unison.

"Zero-nine-hundred is assembly, General said she'd be showing up at forty-five." The General might not have been one for strict time keeping, but Commander Frost certainly was. He might not have always lived up to his name, but like all Clone Commanders he certainly appreciated structure.

Fives nodded, "and she asked specifically for us?"

Echo thwacked his brother's shoulder plate. "They're just telling us that!'

The rest of the 501st clones were sniggering softly to themselves.

"Did she ask for them No-Nines?" Oddball asked, his tone light but not mocking.

"I believe she meant to include them when saying all involved with the replacement training, yes."

"You know I think you might be right." Well not cruelly mocking anyway, there was point of mirth and teasing in the elder clone's tone. "So yes, she asked for you two specifically."

"Alright, oh-nine-hundred it is." Echo nodded.

Fives still looked a bit uncertain but nodded anyway.

Rex stifled an all out laugh, "well now that that's sorted, I hear you brought a souvenir with you from Sermeria," he said glancing at Oddball.

"That I did Captain, that I did…" Oddball said with a wide, devilish grin appearing on his face. From the look and tone of voice, one could almost imagine the Clone pulling out a cigarra and chomping down on it. "And let me tell ya lads, it's one hell of a story…"

* * *

Renia wasn't really a fan of the Coruscant Military Barracks and facilities. Except for the pro Republic propaganda, there was very little there that wasn't regimented and almost...sterile. It truly was nothing like the barracks the 442nd had billeted in aboard the _Dauntless_. There the clones had truly made the ship their own. They still kept it military and regimented as any good soldier would but they definitely added their own personality to it. It had been warm and well, comforting...this, this was anything but. The idea of her men having to spend all their time here made her sad, since taking command of the 442nd she'd come to know the clones rather well and she couldn't imagine stifling their creativity in such a way.

She almost resented the Council for keeping her away for so long, allowing the Republic to take such a course with her soldiers. She understood their motives but Ren would be damned if she said she completely agreed with them. Yes the time away had been good for her, especially spending time with Vala. But she worried it hadn't been so for her men and that was far more important. .

Valanthe in the meantime had had quite a few changes in her life. After the vetting was done and the powers that be decided that she _was_ indeed innocent of turning to the side of the enemy, the Mirialan received yet another reassignment. Originally it had made no sense to her as she had very little experience still in such assignments, but as she meditated on it for a few days, the reason became clear in her head. Or at least she thought so.

The conversation back at the _Stinky Fish_ came to mind. Lex was always a subtle operator, showing his support and care in small, almost imperceptible ways. It would seem her assignment was one such way.

Special Operations Brigade of the GAR, under Jedi General Rak Thirsan. She would be reporting in to the man later that day. But first, Renia had all but harassed her to come join the inspection tour. Whilst she did like the clones, she only really knew Oddball and No-Nines marginally, Commander Frost even less so. The rest were remnants of the 442nd from Sermeria and newly trained in troopers, aka shinies.

"Are you _really_ sure about this, Ren?" Vala asked as she fidgeted with her new jacket, dark brown and very utilitarian, with a matching hood.

"For the twentieth time, yes." Ren teased as she pulled on her outer robes. Normally she wouldn't have worn them but an occasion like this she felt her version of a dress uniform was appropriate. "It'll be good for the boys to have another set of eyes to impress. It'll give the Shiney's something to focus on and it'll be good for our vets to see you again. You did after all save our skins back there."

Valanthe waved it off, "it was a group effort and you know it. Anyway...it's 0900, we should go in," she said as she stepped in line with the very dapperly dressed Renia. "Oh great now I feel under dressed too." Riis gave a dramatic moan.

"Oh you're not. I'm their General I have to present a certain air of authority for the new troops not to mention that being part of the chain of command requires a certain level of formality," Ren said, not overly comfortable with the heavy Jedi robes. How some of her fellows wore these all the time was a mystery to her.

Shrugging it off, Renia started forward heading into the large parade space in the facility where her unit had assembled in formations, each section with their officer standing in front lining the walls. However there was one group in the middle headed by Commander Frost and Captain Lock that stood out from the rest. Hand picked by Renia they were veterans of Sermeria, those troopers who had distinguished themselves in battle above the rest. ARCs Oddball and No-Nines were there, as well as Charger and Buzz...but the ones that would undoubtedly catch Valanthe's attention were the only two blue armored clones, Fives and Echo.

The two aforementioned ARC Troopers in blue had been talking to each other on their private channel as they were waiting for the inspection to start, still somewhat unsure as to why they had to be there when they didn't quite fall under the General's command. Then they noticed a smaller, much less regal looking green figure just behind the General. Much less regal, but not at all unwelcome.

Echo couldn't help a dry chuckle as he heard his brother suck in a deep breath. "Well well, this certainly _is_ a surprise, eh Fives?"

He'd been expecting anyone else but her. Not that he was unhappy or disappointed, in fact, far far from it. It had just had such a sense of finality back then that he'd come to accept it as such. He felt himself straighten up. Fives also allowed himself a glance at the Commander from within the safety of his helmet.

She looked...tired. Almost a bit subdued. _Why?_

"It certainly is, vod. It certainly is," he said finally.

It was at that very moment they heard Captain Lock bellow, "Atten-hut!"

All as one, every manner of trooper stood at perfect attention.

Renia always hated giving speeches, she'd only done it a couple of times before. There was something about speaking to a group and needing to find that right balance of authority, self-deprecation and reverence for your audience that she had trouble with. But having Vala here, her calming presence where the Jedi could feel it, made Ren feel a hell of a lot more relaxed.

"Troopers! First and foremost I wanted to congratulate you on completing your training, you are now ready to join one of the finest infantry battalions in the Republic. Your hard work and dedication over the last few weeks has been an inspiration; your commitment to the Republic, its citizens and its ideals is nothing short of noble. You were born into this life and weren't afforded the choice of something different...and yet, not once have I ever seen anything less than full and unwavering dedication to your duties and to those who share in our burden.

It is said that there is no greater bond, no greater trust than that between soldiers, between those who stand shoulder to shoulder in the darkest and hardest of times. But the bond you men share goes far deeper than that, you are brothers; men of the same skin, of the same bone and of the same heart. I am honored and humbled to have shared in this bond, to be welcomed into this fellowship of heroes.

In my life I have seen many things, gone many places and met many people and none compare to those I see before me today, and those who once stood where you do. Many have come before you and many will come after. It won't be easy, this war, one unlike any that have come before. It won't be won today, or tomorrow or next month or next year... It will take a toll on us. We will lose friends, lose family along the way...there will be no time for sorrow.

But I can see in your hearts that we will not surrender to despair, we will push on, continue to fight to make sure that the sacrifices they made in the name of freedom were not made vain. It is then we will grieve, but it is also then we will remember. And many years from now, I hope, we can look back on long and happy lives in peace and know we did the right thing and that you all will feel the same pride that I do today.

Remember this, as our business now is out there, good luck and may the Force be with you all."

Commander Frost took a step forward, putting his helmet on, "well, let's go get the job done then! Par haar tsad droten!" (For the Republic!)

The crowd broke into cheers and clapping almost instantly as Renia finished her speech. Fives and Echo felt completely elated joining in their brothers in echoing, "Par haar tsad droten!"

Vala could feel the shinies fully believing in Renia's words. Those who had been with the battalion for a while felt their hope elevated while the veterans, like Frost, Lock, Oddball and No-Nines felt a more cautious kind of longing for it all to be finally over.

"Well, you made me tear up there...go figure." The Mirialan wiped her somewhat misty eyes, hiding behind the slightly bulkier frame — what with the robes and all) — of her friend.

"Gettin sentimental in your old age then?" Ren teased with a soft elbowing of her friend, her eyes still glued to the troops before her. She could feel their confidence, their spirit rising as they were dismissed from ranks and could interact with each other, take that final step into becoming a real unit. Hopefully this belief in themselves and those around them would be the push they needed to survive their next engagement.

"I suppose I ought to go tell the ARCs I'll be working with them from now on." Vala chuckled, "Well at least Fives and Echo, Oddball and No-Nines are shipping out with you, no?" She glanced from the four ARCs who were in hushed conversation together to the side.

"They are, we'll be shipping out again soon and I'll need them more than ever." Ren didn't have the specifics of their orders, but considering some of the training her unit received and other current battlefields, she had a guess or two. She wouldn't be surprised if she ended up near Sermeria again or fighting with Obi-Wan. "But the others will be glad to hear you'll be with them."

"Let me know if you can, when you know?" Vala turned to face Renia, her face cool and neutral, but she clearly projected worry. "Remember what I told you."

Fives and Echo were sharing a joke when Fives stopped momentarily, turning to glance at the two women, who somehow happened to be looking in their direction. "I think they're talking about us," Fives commented, "I wonder why."

Echo's only response was a small shrug of his plated shoulders, his pauldrons like small wings bobbing up and down.

"I know, I haven't' forgotten," Ren said with an encouraging smile. "I admit it's been harder than I thought to think in those terms but I've been trying."

Valanthe nodded, "alright, I'll come see you off if I'm still here before you go. Want to come with me while I talk to Fives and Echo? Or are you busy?"

"I'm pretty much free, there's little going on right now, this time is for the men to get to know each other outside of training." Ren said holding out her arm to have Vala take the lead. It would be good to talk to the newly minted ARCs again, it felt like since she got back it's been harder and harder to find time to meet with the clones.

"General, sir!" Fives and Echo snapped to attention almost painfully as the two women arrived.

Vala winced visibly. "At ease lads. This is a social call," she said, smirking. "So, you two finally made it. It's hard to recognize you now, from the shinies I met back on Kamino."

The two ARCs in blue grinned. "Thanks, Commander. If you hadn't let us go, who knows what would have happened," said Fives, taking his helmet off and tucking it under his arm.

"Though, I would have liked to try my hand at intelligence work," Echo chimed in, doing the same with his helmet.

Vala couldn't help but grin, their enthusiasm and elation were infectious. "Well, you're going to get something close to it. I've been reassigned to Special Ops to work with ARC Troopers. Intelligence liaison and all."

If they could grin any wider their cheeks would have fallen off. Fives couldn't help but wonder, however, what Burner had said the day before in his embittered tirade. Had she done something to earn being transferred from Intelligence to Special Operations? Not that he minded in any way. Seeing her again and knowing he'd get to work with her on a more regular basis made him cheerful for some reason. He wasn't quite sure why, but he wasn't going to question it. So what _had_ she done?

"That's excellent news, Commander, the Division will surely benefit from your experience and expertise," Echo said, still grinning from ear to ear.

"From your's as well Sergeant," Renia said, glad to see the two clones had taken to the news so well. "I'd say that the two of you have had some of the most varied training of any ARC. With Vala by your side I imagine that will only become more and more true."

Vala rolled her eyes affectionately, "stop, I'll explode from all the compliments!"

Fives chuckled, observing the interaction. His mind went in a totally inappropriate direction at her words however. Such thoughts were reserved for lonely nights in the bunk room where every brother left the other alone with their thoughts. He coughed a little to cover for his indecent thoughts before resuming a grin.

"Oh you've not seen anything yet, Commander. Wait till you meet the others," he teased lightly.

"You mean there ARCs worse than you at it?" Vala quipped back, smirking.

"Kriff yes. Our trainers for one," Fives shot back, then glanced at Oddball and No-Nines. "No, not you. The lot back at Kamino."

Echo laughed softly beside him at their indignant faces.

"Where do you think _they_ got it from?" Oddball asked, adding a bit of a huff to his already indignant expression. The clone wouldn't deny that the ARC trainers on Kamino were a force to be reckoned with, he just believed that he and No-Nines were just a wee bit past their level.

This set the group off laughing. They remained talking for a little while longer, the crowds around them thinning out. Minutes turned into hours without the small group noticing it too much.

Fives felt lighter. Almost as light as he'd been after Domino Squad had finally finished the Citadel exercise. When they'd finally graduated from Cadets to Troopers. He decided that it was worth it. The journey they had, he and Echo. It was worth it because of moments like these.

It was nearing curfew, he knew it and he didn't want it to be yet. Moments of relaxation and enjoyment like these were too few, too precious.

"Echo and I should get back to ARCA barracks," He said then, sighing a little, "curfew's starting soon. We'll be getting our assignments tomorrow and all."

Vala nodded, "I should turn in early too, meeting with General Thirsan at 0700." She didn't really want to go either. This small group of people had become very dear to her very fast, even though she'd spent very little time with most of them compared to her life long friendship with Renia.

"I imagine we all have early mornings coming, now that their training is complete I doubt we'll be kept on Coruscant for much longer." Renia didn't want to go back to the front lines, really she didn't want to be a part of the war altogether. But that wasn't an option, she couldn't just sit it out. As if the Force knew where their discussion was headed, her portable communicator started to beep. Of course someone wanted to get a hold of her now, of course they couldn't wait just a few short hours for tomorrow.

With a sigh she brought up her wrist, tapping the large white button to answer the summons. While she wasn't sure what to expect, Master Yoda contacting her at this hour didn't even make the top 10.

"Master, what can I assist you with at this hour?"

" _Apologies Master Vinree, for disturbing you. Urgently required, your presence at the Temple is."_

That didn't sound good, despite being a senior Jedi and General, if there was something wrong Ren would not be the first contacted, especially with so many members of the High Council present on world.

"Understood Master, I can be there within the hour." Renia frowned as her gaze met Vala's, saddened that she would be torn from her friend once more by duty.

" _Appreciated your haste is, see you soon, we will."_

Vala nodded slowly. "Be careful," she mouthed.

Yoda didn't make such calls unless the situation truly was dire. Just as he and Master Sinube came to see her personally. The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order didn't make such trips or calls for just anyone.

Fives and Echo almost unconsciously straightened up a bit as they waited to be dismissed. Fives could note the tension in the General. The Commander had an inquisitive look on her face, both concerned and curious at the same time.

As the channel closed and the hologram of the Grandmaster disappeared, Renia didn't quite know what to say as she looked around at the other three before her. "Well, I guess that settles that…"

Vala nodded solemnly, "may the Force be with you, General."

Now was not the time to get soppy and emotional. Now Renia needed to be the General and Valanthe the Commander, leading by examples, not by emotion.

"Good luck, General!" Echo saluted Renia, Fives joining in quickly.

"Thank you all and good luck to you as well," Ren said, returning the salutes and bowing deeply to her friend. She desperately wanted to grasp Vala tightly and give her a hug, borrowing some of the other woman's strength. But she couldn't, not here with all the other clones. She knew Vala recognized that, the thanks and understanding evident in her gaze.

Vala nodded, feeling her friend's tumbled emotions, sending her own encouraging thoughts. Nodding to the two ARC's, Valanthe was the first one to step away from the assembly, much to her own chagrin. There was work to do and she was letting her emotions keep her away from it too long. She was a professional. A former Shadow of the Jedi Order, a former agent for the Republic Ministry Of Intelligence, the mission was all. Or the game in this case. There was a long game afoot, a game she was assigned to GAR Special Ops Division to play. Maybe, just maybe, she could help get to the bottom of this.

Fives and Echo watched after the Commander for a few moments. Then they turned to Renia for the final dismissal.

"Keep each other safe," Renia said with a nod, unable to bring herself to be so military to dismiss them with the single, sterile word; not to these two and certainly not while her emotions still tugged at her as Vala walked away. Deeper than her emotional connection to the two clones it was also a request; that they watch out for Vala as best they could. It was a bit of a gamble, banking on their ability to understand her true meaning. But looking into their eyes as the pair of clones gave her one last salute they understood.

It was all the comfort she could take for the moment, that she would get to see the three of them again. Whether the war would allow her this indulgence was a whole other question… Force willing they would all come out of this alright, if not...the survivors would support each other, as it had always been.

Steeling herself as Valanthe disappeared from view and the ARCs melded in with their fellow clones, Renia herself turned walking off in the opposite direction; feeling rather more isolated with every step. It was all she could do to focus her mind of what Master Yoda so desperately wanted to tell her.

" _Force be with us all…"_ she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as the near silent prayer was swallowed up by the overpowering din of the assembled clones, unaware of the danger soon to befall them.


	20. Chapter 20 - The Old Bazaar Mystery

_**Coruscant, Old Market Quarter, Old Market Bazaar**_

There were times he cursed the line of work he was in, when his impatience got the better of him. Being the Director of Field Operations for the Republic Ministry Of Intelligence, had its perks, certainly, and he had the ability to expedite things. But this particular thing? It gave him more grief than any other case in the past twenty years of his service.

He'd seen her potential the day she walked into the building - granted, Master Sinube had had a conversation with him beforehand. Valanthe had made the case for herself however. Force user or not, her's was a keen, methodical mind. Always questioning, always looking, always seeing. Part of him admired her for it. The other part, however, always feared that one day she would get herself involved in business she wouldn't be able to get out of. The day she and her team dug out the database from the Balmorran Arms Factory was the day his fears came true.

It was almost as if whoever was part of that whole scheme knew even before they reached the _Resolute_ that the database was stolen and whom by. Orders came almost instantly to hand it over to the GAR, even before he had a chance to contact Riis and warn her to at least make a copy. Her men were good enough to crack it, and they would have, with time. Instead clone troopers are asked to deliver the database to complete unknowns.

His own queries into the matter set off alarms. He'd gotten a verbal warning from his counterpart in Administration. When he wouldn't give it up, they had made it clear they were watching him, listening in, making sure he behaved. Then they started pulling up loyalty vetting on agents whose homeworlds were CIS or had recently joined the Republic.

When Xander realized that he would have to play the long game against his own, against the establishment he swore to protect, it hit him hard. Naturally the fates would have it that Valanthe called him at that moment demanding to know the truth and raising her concerns. His clipped and deflecting replies had an effect on her, thankfully and he had managed to have her back off for the time.

Night needed her to come to him, to Coruscant, where he could use his knowledge of the territory and it's places to be shielded from view and ear, effectively against the would be listeners and followers. If he was being blocked, he would make sure that the Mirialan got to the bottom of it somehow. There was something very wrong in the upper echelons of the Republic if they allowed the army to dictate civilian business this intently. They were going through great lengths to contain whatever was in there.

Which, naturally, raised the question of what they were trying to hide. What was so damaging that those in charge got the GAR to pull the case from RMOI?

He needed to get his hands on the database, or at least a copy of what had been decrypted. So he took his time, slowly finding connections, finding people to talk to in convoluted, roundabout ways, doing his best not to get people hurt in the process. Xander knew one thing, one mistake from him and anyone whom he was in contact with regarding this could be in trouble.

Thankfully, Riis was receptive to his words and ideas when they met on Level 1313 at the _Stinky Fish._ She was equally as concerned as he was, if not more so, with the odd reassignments of her team and near death experiences since the Balmorra mission.

He too agreed that they needed to work both ends of the spectrum to find out what kind of a beehive they had poked. He would work his liaisons and contacts. Xander also needed to place Riis in a position where she could work up the GAR chain to try and gain access. It needed to look like it wasn't deliberate, however, perhaps even like she was reassigned by someone else from under him, so that as little suspicion was raised as possible.

So he started making deliberate mistakes, slip ups in reports, in certain basic operations and management. Any little thing that would get someone's attention. Soon came the first cautionary conversation, then another one and another. He found himself under performance review after a little while, then a suspension. This actually suited him, because it more or less freed his schedule up from other concerns.

Investigator Arren had been placed in temporary charge of Valanthe's section and had began reviewing cases and personnel profiles. Valanthe and a Twi'lek agent were reassigned to the GAR on a temporary basis due to their field experiences with the clones and the war.

This suited Xander just fine. He knew Valanthe was smart enough to seize the opportunity it gave her. Especially if he created enough of a distraction on his end for her to dig unseen. More or less literally in her case.

So now he was at the Old Market Sector. It was one of the areas of Coruscant he didn't visit often, mostly because he would send agents local to the area to deal with whatever needed to be dealt with. Dressed in non descript clothing, a hood over his head, his long coat wrapped tightly around his body, he looked like just another passerby on his way to work.

His CI (Confidential Informant) was a trader at the Old Market Bazaar, who had contacted him quite frantically several hours ago, claiming he had critical information for him regarding his investigation into the GAR and taking of RMOI cases. The elderly human from Temekla had been a reliable source of information to Xander for several years, so the agent listened when his asset was concerned.

The man had a fresh produce stall in the Old Market Bazaar and was just finishing with a customer as Xander approached.

"Good morning, young lad." The elderly, dark skinned seller beckoned him closer.

"'Mornin'," Xander grumbled his usual greeting, "got any Bellassan peppers?"

Bellassan peppers were a favored spicy condiment on Coruscant, used in many dishes in many of the establishments on the planet-city.

The man nodded, motioning for Xander to follow him.

"Just got a fresh shipment this morning, come on back, I'll let you pick them for yourself." The man motioned.

Night nodded, knowing it was a way to securely get off the street where they could talk. That and for him to actually grab a few peppers, because they were his favorite spice. Plus, it also gave him credibility when he left the man's shop/stall.

"You took your sweet time!" the man growled as the doors closed behind them.

Night pulled the hood off of his back, "Tomno," he began, addressing the man by name, "I'm being watched, so I had to take the long way down."

"So…it really _is_ important, isn't it? The whole mess the GAR keeps trying to stir?" Tomno sighed.

Night nodded, "what do you have?" He wasn't keen on sharing information, even if he trusted Tomno.

"Me…" A weequay man stepped in from an adjoining room.

Night turned to face the man, surprise shown on his face. He had thought this particular agent dead. Harsak Vanth had disappeared in the line of duty at the beginning of the war and has been listed as MIA since, though the general consensus had been that he had been killed.

"Vanth…" Night reached for his sidearm and pointed it at the Weequay.

"Nononono! Stop! Night! Stop!" Tomno placed both of his hands on Xander's pistol and tried to push it down. "You must listen to him! He has information I think you want!"

"I'll listen, but I'm not putting the gun down," Night snapped. "Stand next to him, Tomno. You know I don't like surprises."

The old man nodded, "I know. But I also know you want to know this. Tell him, Vanth. Tell him what you told me."

"The Techno Union is supplying the Separatists. That's what your people found on the Balmorra Database. The Balmorran Arms Factory is owned by them and they are using it as a front to supply the CIS with droid units." Vanth sighed, raising his hands.

Whilst it explained a lot, how did an MIA agent come into possession of this information?

"Someone in the Senate or the Office of the Chancellor is trying to keep that intel from coming out…" Night muttered, still training his pistol on them. "How do you know all this? Where have you been all this time?"

Vanth waved it off, "nevermind that now. Someone with enough power knows a Senate member is working with the Separatists. Someone with enough power to command the GAR to do their bidding. Do you understand the enormity of this?"

"Of course, I do, Vanth. But you need to understand that I can't just take your word for it, much as I want to believe it. Much as it makes perfect sense, all the sidelining we've been getting. Do you have any actual evidence to support this?"

"Your Balmorra database, it's held under lock and key in the GAR R&D facility. All the evidence you need is there," Harsak insisted easily.

Too easily in Night's opinion. "How...do...you...know?"

"I can't talk here, Xan," the weequay said, moving slowly to tap in a set of coordinates on his wrist com. "Meet me there, at that time, I'll tell you everything."

"Let me guess, come alone?"

Vanth grinned.

"Alright." Night finally put his pistol down, glancing at his own wrist comm, seeing a message received. He then holstered the pistol.

He stepped over to the pepper crates and picked a few random ones from the pile, then stepped towards the door, raising the hand holding the peppers.

"Thanks, Mister Sol. I'm looking forward to trying these tonight!" He called loudly as he exited the man's shop as casually as he could, then he put the peppers into his coat pocket and headed towards the taxi.

 _ **Night's appartment, Gallifrey Lane, Sector 2-12**_

The meeting was set for the next day, late in the evening which gave Xander enough time to send off information to an agreed dead drop for Valanthe to pick up when she could. As he set the gartro eggs to slowly simmer and infuse with the taba leaves, he set about preparing data for the dead drop.

He set his thoughts and discoveries down in a hard copy form, so that Valanthe could reference it if she needed to. Xander also relayed how the resurgence of Harsak Vanth concerned him, he also relayed the meeting time and place just in case something happened as well as his theories as to what may have happened with Vanth since the start of the war.

As his omelette was nearing completion, he chopped the bellassan peppers finely and diced them then added them to the omelette and mixed.

Xander then resumed dictating, his speech turning to text, "be careful, Vala. Getting access to GAR R&D will be more difficult than either of us imagine, with the security protocols they likely have there."

He stepped over to the stove and fished out a small piece of the omelette, blew on it to cool it and tasted it. As always, it tasted just right, savory and spicy enough, with a dash of acidity to satisfy his pallate.

"I have faith that you can gain access to it, at least grab us a copy we can sift through so we can gather the evidence and present a case…" he continued, feeling his esophagus burning a little.

He continued into what Vanth had told him, feeling the burn increase. Chalking it off to heartburn which he often suffered from, he finished his dictations and sent off the data to the deaddrop. As he got up, he initiated the erasure sweep, to clear his commlogs from any communication towards the deaddrop, just in case.

He grabbed a fizzy drink from his chiller unit and set the table as the omelette was done and set about to eat. With how hungry he was, and the fizzy drink he didn't give the increasing heartburn much mind until he was done.

Now that he thought about it, the burning sensation felt strange and he realized he was beginning to feel strange as well. Now that he no longer moved as much, he felt his hands shake and there were tremors in his legs.

He felt a cold type of sweat down his back and his eyes sprouted in yellow dots behind his corneas. Why was he having a low blood pressure attack? It never happened before, not with this type of food. He gingerly stood up, feeling the pressure in his head increase as his position changed.

Slowly, holding onto various furniture as he moved, Xander Night finally made it to the couch, plopping down on it unceremoniously. He let out a groan and covered his eyes with his forearm. Taking a deep breath, he tried to slow his breathing down, to even himself out. Closing his eyes, he tried to breathe slowly, evenly. It succeeded eventually, consciousness slowly leaving him…

"What the frak….just…" his speech slurred, "...happened?" The arm that was over his eyes slid onto his chest, the other fell over the edge, dangling to the floor.

Consciousness was no more.


	21. Chapter 21: Fear Within The Sidelines

**A/N:** So sorry my lovelies for the delay in new chapters. It's been a rather stressful couple of months IRL. However the chapters **ARE** still coming and there's no intention to stop :)

* * *

 ** _Jedi Temple_**

It was one thing to stand at a distance and observe the Temple. It was one thing to stand at its footsteps looking up at the ancient pillars. But to actually walk the ancient halls again after so long. Valanthe almost felt as if she was trespassing in an ancient sanctum. The fact that she was both invited and ordered to attend was a whole different story.

Riis wished she could take her time to once again walk its entire halls, however that was not to be today. Today she needed to brief the Jedi on a dangerous situation that had arisen, and action that needed to be taken. As she rounded a corner towards a briefing centre, she could feel an ancient, powerful presence. One ever calm and ever mildly amused at the world.

 _Plo Koon._ Valanthe thought with a smile.

The Kel-Dor had been of the median opinion back when her fate in the Jedi Order was 'being decided'. He was far from happy with what she had done, but he was not the judgemental one either, willing to have the young Mirialan prove her devotion to the Light Side of the Force and the Jedi.

"Valanthe Riis, it has been a long time." His deep timbre greeted her.

The Mirialan nodded as she approached, an info-pad in hand. "Indeed it has, Master Plo. How have you been? I've heard of the battle of Abregado-Rae...such a loss must have affected you deeply."

Whether or not he was affected by her words was difficult to tell, his facial expression never gave away anything, and his Force signature remained as calm as always. He merely extended a taloned hand towards her.

"We persevere, regardless of the enemy's attempt. My men have suffered the loss to a greater depth." Plo said, his shoulders sagging a little, "they are a strong, severely underrated people." He said.

Valanthe nodded slowly, smiling, "indeed they are." She said, remembering her own former team, Ren's ARC Troopers and Fives and Echo, whom she now worked with within the Special Operations Division of the GAR.

She dearly missed her old job at RMOI. Though she still regularly conversed with Xander and her other colleagues, working for the military was so very different. And now this...

"You are at a crossroads, young one." Said Plo, looking at her curiously as he motioned for her to follow him.

Riis blinked, pausing for a moment before following the Kel-Dor, "I believe so...so many things have happened and are yet to happen...I am, conflicted as to what to do."

"The Force will guide you, young one. When the time comes, you will know what to do." He said as he lead them towards the briefing room.

Vala chuckled softly, "thank you, Master."

"Your briefing, it also troubles you." Plo nudged softly.

"Indeed, but I cannot reveal it here, we must wait for Kenobi and Skywalker." Riis said as they entered the briefing room.

Plo nodded, "they will join us momentarily. They just returned from operations from the Outer Rim."

Valanthe nodded as they stepped down to the small circular podium. "It is so strange to be here again. Part of me feels like a stanger…"

"Part of you feels at home…" Plo supplied, crossing his arms on his chest.

Slowly, Valanthe nodded, "I did not expect to feel it still, after all this time."

It was true. She had thought she was beyond the old antiquated lifestyle, beyond the isolation of the Temple. It had been eight years since she walked among the Jedi as one of them. Eight years that had shown that her choice had been correct. Yet still...these ancient halls felt both familiar and comfortable and a strange, different place from another lifetime ago.

"It will always be part of you, this Temple, the Jedi, the friends you made here, the trials you went through." Plo said kindly, "they molded you into who you are today, Valanthe Riis. Do not think it wrong, however. Your past helps you make decisions towards your future. Embrace it, do not run from it."

Valanthe nodded, quirking her head a little, sensing familiar presences. The ever contained, wise yet ever concerned, Obi-Wan. The burning ember that sought freedom, Anakin. There was one she had not felt since her team got off of Balmorra. Loyal, reliable and very closed off, Commander Cody. Then there were Echo and Fives. Somehow it made perfect sense for Anakin to want the two ARCs with him on this mission. The two had been on 501st related assignments for a few weeks now, so Valanthe hadn't seen much of the two men since they'd started working together.

"Ah, Valanthe!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as the small group descended the steps, "so good to see you again, old friend."

"Hello again, Vala. How are you?" Anakin jumped in, grinning brightly, not to be outdone.

"It is good to see both again, you as well, Commander Cody." Valanthe bowed slightly to them, "Fives, Echo, welcome back, gentlemen."

Almost as one, the three clones echoed, "thank you, Commander."

There was a mutual sense amusement among the Jedi, before the holo-projector flickered and an image of Captain Rex appeared.

"Hello again, Captain Rex." Valanthe greeted as she turned to face the newcomer.

"Commander, Generals, troopers." Rex greeted professionally and quickly.

"I wish I was here on a happier occasion." Valanthe stepped over to the main console of the holo-projector, "I assume you all know what has happened to Master Piell."

After a collective round of nods, she connected her info-pad to the projector and initiated several commands, bringing up an image of an ancient looking building.

"We have learned that Master Piell and what is left of his crew is being held at The Citadel. As you all know, The Cidatel was designed as an impenetrable prison, one designed to hold rogue Jedi on the planet Lola Sayu." Valanthe began the briefing. "Nowadays it is in the hands of the CIS, with one Osi Sobeck as its warden. To this date, noone has has escaped."

Anakin spoke up, confidence and challenge in his voice, "there's a first time for everything."

In sync with his former apprentice and now practically brother, Obi-Wan added, "indeed there is."

"We need to be cautious none the less." Plo advised.

Valanthe nodded, "indeed you must. With almost no reconnaissance available due to their security measures, we have managed to construct a crude map based on known information and old archival data from the Temple, kindly provided by Master Sinube and Master Plo." The Mirialan nodded to the Kel-Dor.

"The data is difficult to rely on at the best of times," Plo said, gesturing to the tunnel schematic which now appeared, "due to our information being extremely old."

"The facility was built roughly 530 years ago…" Valanthe supplied.

"So, we are essentially going in blind," Anakin spoke up again.

Holo-Rex interjected before more could be said, "with respect, Generals, how do we know Master Piel is still alive?"

"The Separatists need him alive," Plo said, crossing his clawed hands behind his back, "so long as he has the information, he is useful to them."

"The information being a secret set of coordinates known as the Nexus Route. It travels into the heart of Republic and Separatist space." Valanthe supplied. "This is what Master Peel was in possession of when he was captured."

She could see Echo and Fives behind Cody, their Force signatures clearly displaying wonder as to how such a leak could have happened. How did the Separatists learn the Republic had this information?

It was what Valanthe wondered herself. But this was within the RMOI purview, something she no longer had full access to. Now, she was GAR Spec Ops Intel Liaison, which meant she was on limited access to intel pertaining to the GAR and their operations. She would have to ask Night later if he knew anything about how the Separatists got wind of this crucial find.

"These coordinates could prove vital to maneuvring our forces into remote separatist sectors." Obi-Wan began.

"Or the enemy could use them to slip through our defenses and attack Coruscant." Anakin added.

"These hyper-lanes are of immense interest to both our sides," Plo nodded, "and could tip the scale of the war to whoever is in the possession of them."

"So you all understand the necessity of finding a way into the Citadel to rescue Master Piel. Make no mistake about this, gentlemen, this is a mission of utmost secrecy. Noone beyond this room and Masters Yoda and Windu may know about this." Valanthe urged.

"Based on the archive schematics, we have narrowed it down to three possible locations they could be holding Master Piell." Plo said.

"My greatest concern is penetrating their outer security," Obi-Wan said, his expression one of utmost seriousness. "The life form scanners will not be easy to fool."

Anakin was already thinking uncoventionally ahead as was his usual way, "I've got a thought about that."

"Oh?" Valanthe raised an eyebrow.

"What masks lifesigns yet is common to not raise suspicion if discovered?" Anakin looked over at Valanthe with a grin.

"Oh that's very clever. Carbonite freezing." Valanthe chuckled.

"That's right!"

"Very clever indeed," Obi-Wan agreed.

"If there are any other questions, pose them now because time is of the essence. Master Piell is strong, but even the strongest can break if pressured for long enough." Valanthe cautioned.

She could feel a sense of pride and approval projected towards her from Plo and Obi-Wan, while Fives and Echo projected admiration.

"Everyone clear on what your objective is? Rescue Master Piell and his crew and attain the Nexus Route coordinates?" Valanthe asked again.

After another collective round of nods, the Mirialan dismissed the Jedi and the Clones.

As they exited the briefing room, Valanthe felt Fives and Echo hesitate momentarily. Making her good byes to the Jedi, Valanthe turned to them once she realized they were still there, waiting.

"You're not coming with us…" Fives stated, his Force signature dimming as she nodded slowly.

"I've got a different assignment I need to take care of." Valanthe sighed. She didn't, not really, but it beat saying that she was pretty much barred from Jedi related missions, even if she would be going in a GAR capacity. She didn't have the heart to tell them just on how many levels she was still shunned from the Jedi society.

Echo nodded, "we'll get them out, Commander."

"I know," Vala smiled, doing her best to hide her concern from them. The Citadel was not a place for anyone. "I have faith in you."

Their Force signatures brightened. The two men seemed to stand taller too, taller than their usual, military stance.

"Come back in one piece, okay?" Valanthe placed a hand on each of their shoulders, nodding solemnly to them.

The atmosphere grew thick with swirling, confusing emotions. It was Fives and Echo who broke it by putting on their helmets and saluting her.

In as best a military posture as she could muster, Valanthe snapped to attention and saluted the two ARC Troopers. "Force be with you, gentlemen."

"And you, Commander." Fives replied thickly as the trio relaxed their stances. "We better join the others."

Valanthe nodded, giving her silent permission for them to leave. The two began to walk away. The Mirialan slowly turned, watching the two blue and white figures among the sea of brown and beige. There was a heavy feeling about the place, something indescribably wrong. She couldn't tell what it was. It was almost as if she was saying farewell, though she couldn't pinpoint why, or to whom.

Shaking her head out of her reverie, Valanthe decided to focus on what she _could_ do, what she _could_ influence. For that she needed information. She needed to talk to Xander. He was working an angle, and he would periodically send her data to one of the several dead drops she had set up. Vala needed to see if he'd learned anything more.

The heavy feeling started washing away as she departed the Temple, walking down the promenade. Valanthe felt slightly guilty, turning her thoughts away from the mission and her men going into one of the most dangerous places in the Galaxy. How easily she was able to turn her thoughts away and disconnect from the emotion attached to it.

 _How Jedi of me. Turning from those in need for the sake of putting out another fire elsewhere without regard for the consequences of leaving too soon?_ Vala thought to herself as she descended the steps, pulling her coat around her tighter, as the artificial air around her seemingly grew cold. Or was it just her imagination?

 ** _Gallifrey Lane, Sector 2-12, sometime later_**

Gallifrey Lane was a study in opposites, when it came to who lived on it. While most of the apartments were designed by Benits Stinex, an architect famous throughout the Republic, frequently known as 'the Old Man', it was the rest of the buildings that kept the Lane from being high end, keeping it only at partly affluent level. The rest of the buildings were quite clearly built by 'new money' families, many of which fell into disrepair once the families moved on to more elite neighborhoods.

One such was number 22, an apartment building in which Xander Night lived. It was unremarkable in its look and upkeep, which was pretty much perfect for who he was and what he did.

Which made it all the more confusing when Valanthe sensed a great number of clones and others near number 22 as she approached the complex. Among the emergency responders, there was also a forensics vehicle, as well as several vehicles she recognized as belonging to RMOI.

 _What is going on?_ Valanthe wondered as she came to a stop about a hundred meters from the building. She could see the colours and markings of the Coruscant Guard on the clone armour. _RMOI doesn't get this much fanfare, ever._

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step away,." a clone's voice broke through her thoughts.

The green skinned woman blinked, "what's going on, Trooper?"

"There has been an incident, ma'am. Please, step away,." the trooper replied, his gauntleted hand tightening around his rifle.

Valanthe rolled her eyes visibly, the sense of urgency and dread, filling her. So much so in fact, she completely ignored the fact that this poor man was just doing his job and did not deserve her ire.

"Yes, I can see there's been an incident! I am asking what's happened!" Valanthe growled, not stopping her approach.

"Ma'am, remain where you are!" He raised his weapon deftly, pointing it at her, "this is CT-8976-92, I need…"

Valanthe's arm shot out, "you need nothing. It was just an animal. False alarm,." sShe said in a calm, even tone, lilac eyes focused on his head, where the man's eyes would be.

 _"Trooper! CT-8976-92, what's going on?"_ Came over his wristcom.

"Nothing, sir. It was just an animal. False alarm. Sector is clear,." said the Trooper almost mechanically.

The communication was cut. The Mirialan's hand raised again, "you will forget you saw me."

"I will forget I saw you." The Trooper nodded stiffly, slowly turning and returning to his post.

Valanthe nodded, stepping backwards, assessing the situation through her training as well as opening herself to the Force. She was trying to isolate a specific Force signature, one very familiar, almost comforting in the confidence that she always associated to it.

 _I can't find you!_ Panic and dread swiftly returned.

Valanthe ducked behind the nearest corner and leaned against the wall. Her heart was beating fast, almost thundering in her ears. _Calm down! Focus! Breathe!_ Taking a long, deep breath she tried to expel the negative emotions through breathing out. Slowly, slower than she would have liked, the feelings abated and calm returned.

She needed to get into that building and see for herself what was going on. Should she just waltz back in there and reveal who she is and thus her connection to Night? Didn't he get her reassigned just for that reason? To distance them in the face of the public so that they both could perform their investigations without too much interference. Could she use her skills on everyone she passed to implant suggestions and thereby pass by under false pretense?

She shook her head at herself. It was likely that she would come across a strong mind or two on whom her skills would not have an effect and then she would be in trouble. Hurting people today was not on her list.

So that left her with one option. Taking another deep breath, Valanthe pulled the Force about her, slowly shimmering out of sight.


	22. Chapter 22: Gallifreyan Echoes

_**Gallifrey Lane, Sector 2-12, Appartment Building Number 22, Xander Night's place**_

As she cloaked herself within the Force so that she may pass by unseen, Valanthe reached deep within herself, steeling her core, her composure. If all of those units were present, something catastrophic will have happened and she needed to keep a cool impartial head or she would be discovered, lurking behind a shoulder, standing next to a forensic specialist, picking up an item from the floor she shouldn't.

No matter how bad it would be in there, she knew she needed to keep her cool. Even if…

 _Not now. You can panic and stress later. Focus now and do your job._

The best way to stop arguing with herself would be to just do it. So, she did it. With a lot of the buildings being relatively low on this level, considering the Manaraai mountains and all, Valanthe managed to quickly scale the neighbouring building up to the roof.

Two troopers were patrolling the roof.

 _They're expecting interference? Looking for someone?_

It was easy to jump over that particular hurdle, as she simply slipped between them when they were at their furthest apart distance, looking in different directions.

 _Must not be that tight, the exits are only being watched, but not locked._ Vala thought to herself as she descended down the levels to Xander's apartment.

Four guards in the hall, she noticed as she watched merged with the shadows, two watching the lift, the other two at the entry to the apartment itself. People were going in and out of it, forensics and investigators mainly.

 _Arren's here too?_ Vala frowned from underneath her cloak of Force as she noticed the Zabrak who had interrogated her step out of the apartment. The expression on his face was that of sadness threatening to break out. The usually stoic man was clearly concerned. _I need to get in there._

So she inched closer and observed the patterns of the troopers for a few moments. Normally, she would create a distraction using the Force and slip by, but there were too many of them and she couldn't afford to drop her cloak in order to perform other tricks. No, she needed a gap in their monitoring.

As time went, Valanthe grew more frustrated as the clones seemed to be perfectly covering the small space she needed to cross in order to enter the apartment.

 _Aha! Gotcha!_ She cried finally in her mind as she noticed a coroner exit the lift. She used all of her training not to consider what the coroner being there meant. It was her way in so she took it.

Valanthe dashed up to the coroner, stopping short of the short human. He had obviously sensed a shift in the atmosphere next to him so he turned, looking behind him. Valanthe followed his turns swiftly, always keeping to the back of the man.

"Sir?" One of the troopers asked.

The coroner gave the clone a thoughtful look, "hmm?"

"Are you alright, sir?" The clone asked again, turning to the coroner.

Valanthe took the chance and slipped into the foyer, as the troopers were focused on the coroner.

The first thing that hit her was the scent of fried bellassan peppers in the air.

 _Were you making dinner?_ She wondered as she stepped over to the small kitchenette.

There were two technicians from Forensics, taking samples of what looked like an omelette. They took several samples each, then they appeared to be scanning the counter, looking for trace evidence, or so Vala guessed. Meanwhile, Investigator Arren returned, looking even more grim than before.

The coroner rushed in after a few moments, still looking concerned, heading straight for one of the agents who was speaking with Arren. He seemed apologetic and opened his case, heading deeper into the lounge room.

Vala felt her heart sink as she carefully edged closer, taking care not to be in anyone's way, lest she be discovered. Slowly, she managed to find a viewing point to the very corner of the room, having had to circle the group extremely carefully not to disrupt any evidence.

There he was, limply slumped into the couch, the pale visage of death a stark contrast to his usual bright face. Her friend, her mentor, her former boss…

"He is expired." Said the coroner heavily as he stood up, sighing. "Without a detailed examination I cannot ascertain when."

Arren looked distressed too, "were you able to ascertain the cause of death, Doctor?"

The coroner nodded thoughtfully, "scans indicate he had a heart attack."

 _What?_ Vala frowned under her cloak as she edged closer to hear. _Xander was fit, despite his weight._ Her heart sank further as she looked at the still form on the couch.

"Heart attack? Natural or induced?" Arren frowned, his facial tattoos making him look even more imposing and intimidating with a frown.

The cornorer seemed indecisive for a moment, "I cannot confirm with absolute certainty that it is natural, I need to run further tests on the body."

Arren suddenly looked in her direction, his sharp eyes cowled with a frown. Vala barely withheld a gasp as she saw it, realizing her control must have slipped somehow. Quickly she moved away, careful not to disturb anything or anyone. Had he seen her?

"Investigator Arren?" The fellow investigator looked at the Zabrak quizzically.

Arren blinked, still focused on where Vala had stood moments before. Had her cover fallen or had he sensed her presence?

Either way, Vala knew she needed to get out of there quickly before her concentration broke fully. There was more going on than a simple investigation, that much she was sure of. She would need to look at the reports and evidence another way since she couldn't do her own investigation on site.

"Nothing, it's nothing." Arren shook his head focusing back on the coroner. "Doctor, the Director was in good health, how is it possible he just 'has' a heart attack?"

Vala wanted to know that too as she turned around from where she had nearly reached the exit.

"It is entirely possible, Investigator. It's just unfortunate."

 _Except it's too much of a coincidence to be unfortunate._ Valanthe thought, stepping to the side to avoid a forensic investigator who exited the apartment.

A tear slipped down her cheek and down onto the carpet.

 _I need to get out of here._ Vala snapped out of her growing sorrow momentarily and focused on slipping out of the apartment. Only no one was entering or exiting at that moment she could use as a distraction.

Then, just as she was about to try and traverse the distance to the other side of the hall, Arren stepped by her and stepped outside. Valanthe hurried after him, hoping he wouldn't turn as he had before. Which, of course, he did. It was only thanks to her natural aglity and the Force itself that she managed to stop in time as the horned head turned to look behind his shoulder. Her heart was beating fast now and she could feel beads of sweat on her face.

There! A minute chance to dash away as the clones' heads turned to the confused looking Investigator.

"Sir?"

"Everything alright, Investigator?"

Valanthe made a quiet dash for the other side of the hallway and dashed up the stairs, not seeing Arren look after her a mix of confusion and wonder on his face.

"Investigator Arren?"

"Yes...apologies." Was all she heard as she ascended the levels. Only two guards to go and she'd be free.

She hugged the wall as she neared the roof exit and peeked through the door. The guards were just nearing their intersection point. Three step, two step, one step. Cross paths. Turn. Perfect about face. One step, two step, three step.

Eventually the two unsuspecting clones made it to the furthest distance they could go and Vala dashed for it, throwing herself over the rooftop into the neaby alley she knew wasn't being guarded.

As she fell through the air, she let go of the cloak and extended her hands downward, drawing on the Force again to ease her fall. She still landed a bit hard, falling down to her knees, breathing hard. Hard breaths soon turned into the precursor of the inner ravaging she was feeling. Her eyes watered and she could feel her throat constrict.

 _How in all hells did they get to him? HOW?_ She cried in her mind as she leaned against the dirty floor for support. Was she exposed too?

Valanthe still had enough mental control to realize she needed to move, find a safe spot before she could allow herself to grieve for her friend. So she forced herself on her feet, which were still pulsating from the force of the landing. Gritting her teeth, the Mirialan moved back into the less savory district away from Manarai.

 _ **Sometime later, Sector 4805 - Zi-Kree**_

Riis had forced herself to focus, to blend into the shadows in order to draw the least attention to herself. The further she went into Zi-Kree, the easier it got. Nobody wanted to be noticed there, nor did they want to notice people. This suited the Mirialan just fine.

Forcing herself to think, rather than grieve, because she could do that later, Valanthe needed to figure out what had happened to her friend. Whilst, yes, it _could_ have been a heart attack as the coroner had said, she did not believe it. Then again, she _could_ just be paranoid.

 _Stop! Just stop!_ Vala screamed internally at herself as she slumped against a dank wall in a dark alley, her force cloak dropping. Hugging her feet to her chest, she shook, trying to keep calm, taking deep breaths.

 _Think, think, think, think._ Her mind cycled. _Just think. What did he do last? Who did he talk to? Did he find anything out? Find that out and you'll have a better idea of whether he was killed or if it really was natural causes._

A few deep breaths later, the dark haired woman finally leaned back, taking yet another deep breath and exhaling. "Okay...first thing's first." She closed her eyes and attempted to relax.

She reached out through the Force in attempt to gauge motivations of people around her. Had she been noticed? Was she being followed. So far, it seemed she was just another blissfully ignored individual.

There was a faint beep in the background. Faint so you could barely hear it. Something was needing her attention. Wiping yet another stray tear, Vala raised her arm, tapping at her wristcomm. A blue light flashed as faintly as the sound. _The dead drop._

Xander had arranged that one with her. _He must have found something._ A single thought ran through her head. She needed to get to a secure terminal and download whatever it was that was waiting for her, as soon as possible.

 _ **Coruscant, Housing Block 'Chorathon', Apartment B-21**_

It took her a good hour to get back home, making sure she wasn't followed, running as much counter intelligence in the process before she reached the relative safety of her appartment.

She sat there at her computer, a cup of caf in hand, tapping in the various authorizations and codes to access the dead drop. Part of her dreaded what she may find. Part of her hoped desperately that the information in there would help her figure out what had happened.

Sipping her caf, she hit the start command once the decryption finished. His voice made her shudder a little, the touch of grief returning as he began talking. Xander relayed how the resurgence of Harsak Vanth concerned him, he also relayed the meeting time and place just in case something happened as well as his theories as to what may have happened with Vanth since the start of the war.

Vala remembered the stories of Vanth, though she had never met him personally. She knew he had been a good agent and someone who could be very dangerous. As far as anything else went, she knew he was Weequay. That was it.

Xander then resumed dictating, "be careful, Vala. Getting access to GAR R&D will be more difficult than either of us imagine, with the security protocols they likely have there."

"I have faith that you can gain access to it, at least grab us a copy we can sift through so we can gather the evidence and present a case…" He continued into what Vanth had told him, and his concerns over the matter.

 _Oh Xan, I am so sorry, my friend. I will find it, I will get it and I will find out what really happened to you. I will find out, I promise._ Vala took a deep, steadying breath, unable to keep her eyes from watering again.

So, Vanth would be at the _Stinky Fish_ tomorrow. She would go in Xander's stead and talk to this Vanth fellow. If he knew anything, she would get it out of him. By 'Force' if needed. Once upon a time she would squash such thoughts in fear of it leading her down a darker path, now though… Now, she didn't know anymore. She knew it was wrong. She didn't care and she did at the same time. Her best friend wasn't here to talk to, nor was Obi-Wan...he was off with Fives and Echo, trying to rescue Master Piell. So Vala would just have to rescue herself and deal with her angry, vengeful thoughts on the spot.

 _ **Level 1313, The Stinky Fish bar, following evening**_

She had come in early, taking her time to settle in, order food and appear as leisurely as possible. Having already been in there once, she may or may not be recognized, but her purpose had been unknown then and it would be unknown now. All in all, an infrequent customer at best would be what people would be able to say about a somewhat dishevelled looking green-skinned woman.

She had sat at the right table and worn the clothes Xander had outlined. Only difference was who was wearing the clothes. Hopefully the Weequay wouldn't bolt the moment he realized Xander wasn't there.

Vala casually checked her chronometer every so often. Any minute now Vanth would arrive, or not. She would glance sideways at the entry as she slowly munched on her food.

 _There we go._ She fought hard not to straighten in her seat as her eyes fell on the man. One would almost not notice he was a big and strong Weequay from the subdued, non-descript way he carried himself. _Perfect for what we're about to do….hopefully._ Vala thought as he inconspicuously looked around.

Yellow eyes met lilac then and she could see the indecision in them, even without using the Force. She reached out to him, sending a sense of peace to him through the Force, a notion that her being there instead of Xander was alright.

A dark eyebrow then raised in question, a silent one to which he answered by stepping over to her booth and sitting heavily across from her.

"I told _him_ to meet me here alone. Not one of his underlings." Harsak growled as he leaned forward on his massive arms.

" _He_ won't be making it." Vala replied, leaning closer. "He's dead."

A quick arm shot up and enclosed around her throat. "Then I will end his assassin." Vanth leaned closer, forcing Vala closer too with his hand.

Riis let it happen, knowing she needed to gain this man's trust. If Xander trusted him, she'd give him a chance. Trust, however went both ways. Hence her letting him control the moment, rather than using the Force to tip the balance of power in her favor.

"As...will...I."

The grip loosened.

Vala took the chance and spoke, "I'm Riis. I used to work with him," she said under breath. "I found the full regalia of RMOI and GAR personnel at his pad last night, with him dead on his couch. Even the full forensic team and Coruscant Guard perimeter."

"What?"

"Arren, the Coroner, I wouldn't be surprised if they got Commander Fox himself to secure the site." Vala continued as the grip loosened further.

"How were you not detained?" The grip remained, and now a pistol was pointed at her from underneath the table.

"I'm good at not being seen." Vala tried to flex her neck muscles a little, the position was getting very uncomfortable. "They say he had a heart attack."

"Heart attack?" Vanth frowned, making his menacing visage look even more menacing.

Vala nodded slowly.

"Natural or unnatural?"

"They don't know yet. They'll be doing an autopsy." Vala replied, letting out a relieved sigh as he finally released her, though the gun was still pointed at her.

She leaned back, rubbing her neck a little. Vanth seemed genuinely shocked and angry rather than anything else. It was rarely that the killer had such a visceral reaction to such shocking news.

She glanced around the place casually as she did so, her senses open to any unwanted attention. It seemed encounters such as theirs weren't anything unusual here.

"He sent me a data file. Where he mentioned you and what you told him, they you two were meeting here tonight. He told me about a certain database." Vala leaned forward again. "How do you know that database is at GAR R&D? I'm with bloody GAR now and I can't even come close to that place."

Vanth raised his brow momentarily before leaning back as well.

"It was _you_ who found it, wasn't it?" He asked finally, studying her.

Vala nodded slowly, "taken from us the moment we hit Coruscant. Well the moment part of my team hit Coruscant. The rest of us were cycled elsewhere. Since then I hadn't been able to get sight nor sound of what was on it and was effectively gagged. I stepped into something...something someone doesn't want out. But what?"

"The long needed proof that the Techno Union was supplying the CIS via the Balmorran Arms Factory." He replied quietly. "Someone up high, as high as the Office of the Chancellor doesn't want this coming out, Riis."

"Only someone with that level of authority _can_ put a lid on this. The GAR is loyal to the Senate and the Chancellor. The Jedi...they wouldn't sit on something that important." Vala said. Her eyes narrowed then, "how do you know all this?"

"It's a long story, Riis." He waved it off.

"If I'm to trust you, I need to know. Xan would have needed to know. Last I checked you went MIA at the start of the war. How in the hells do you expect me to take you at your word, without evidence and without a damn good explanation as to where you have been all these months and how the kriff you came by that information." Vala lowered her head a little, "and you can dispense with the gun, or I will dispense it for you."

He seemed a bit startled that she had somehow noticed the gun under the table, though if his memory served him correctly, she _had a way of knowing things._ Still, he put the gun away.

"Alright, Riis. Alright." He held both of his hands up, then put them down again. "I'd become aware in the weeks leading up to Geonosis of a number of individuals and Jedi going dark, changing allegiances. I didn't go MIA, I went off grid in concert with my handler, Visik. How had he not told you or Xan that I was under cover?"

Visik was a Miraluka native, one of the few who had made it to a civilian service, rather than being a Jedi, due to his low Force attunement yet high perception. The problem was, Visik was killed several days after the start of the war.

"Visik was killed three days after the outbreak of the war." Vala prepared for yet another grip to a part of her body. This time none came, the Weequay seemed a lot more restrained, more wary than anything else.

"So they killed him, effectively discrediting me and anything I say." He commented.

"Or you're lying. I have no proof either way. Who are these people who went dark?" _Which Jedi?_ She silently wondered.

He began listing several names. Then he began listing the Jedi and Vala's heart sank even further, "Artel Dar, Kadrian Sey, Tol Skorr, Sora Bulq and Quinlan Vos. Perhaps more, but those of, I know."

 _That's why they wouldn't talk about you...Obi-Wan and Anakin. You...you fell._ Vala sighed deeply. _I am so sorry, my friend._ Was that why Aayla was even more hostile to her? Did she remind her of Quin's actions?

"What did you do, Vanth? How did you come by this?" Vala asked again.

The Weequay grinned, "how does one learn anything from the enemy?"

Her senses were not sensing deception from him. Could he _really_ be telling the truth?

"They become one of them."

He nodded slowly, "not as an agent of the Republic, of course. I woke up one of my aliases."

"So why'd you resurface?"

"Because the CIS have noticed someone is poking around and their agents...Dooku's agents have been sent out." Harsak leaned forward, still keeping his tone low. "They are taking measures to keep the truth from coming out."

"The truth being?"

"Look I don't know with absolute certainty. I wasn't able to get that close but everything so far indicates that this war has been staged. Don't ask me reasons, Riis I don't have them. If you want some answers, you better get into GAR R&D and get that database." He shrugged and took her drink, taking a sip without invitation.

Vala nodded slowly, digesting this information. It almost made sense. Conjecture was all well and good, evidence was what made the case stick. She had none at the moment. He could be leading into a very self incriminating trap as much as he could be telling the truth. The Force was not helping her discern it.

"Vanth," she said after swallowing a bite, "who else knew about your return? About any of this?"

"Just Xan's CI, the go-between we would sometimes use. Tomno Sol, he runs a food stall in the Old Marked Bazaar." He said.

She rolled her tongue over her teeth behind her lips, eyes slowly going side to side as she considered her next move.

"I need to speak to him." Her face grew hard set as she looked over at him. "You're going to help me do that."


	23. Chapter 23: Something In Darkness, Pt 1

_**Coruscant, Old Market Quarter, Old Market Bazaar**_

Valanthe still wasn't entirely sure she could trust Vanth fully. Sure, his story made sense and what she was sensing from him wasn't falsehood, not any more than she would be projecting that could be picked up by another Force user. That kind of falsehood she could easily see past. At least she could when she was in her right mind.

Right now, she didn't at all feel in her right mind. She felt angry, sad, lost, confused and most of all determined to get to the bottom of this. What she didn't feel is her usual detached focus. In such times as she hadn't felt it before...things never went well for her, or those around her. The irony was, Vala was aware of this fact and felt at an even more of a loss as to how to remedy her state.

She took great lengths to cover her appearance, keeping her face hidden under a thick scarf, a hood over her head, her outfit scraggy and in various shades of dull grey. Her lightsaber and blaster were hidden under the tunic-like folds of her over-clothes.

Xanth had also scrapped together a change of clothes, so as to not get immediately recognized by the old man. He had gone ahead of Vala, to scout the place and make sure the man was alone when Valanthe joined them.

It was nearing the end of the day sales and Tomno Sol would soon begin to put his produce back into storage units inside.

It had not been the best day of sales for Tomno, the colder 'autumn' air driving away some of his more regular customers. Sometimes the tedium of this life made him want for the old days; blaster in hand flying the space lanes looking for adventure and profit. Of course what did he have to show for it, a fruit stand… well and his health, loyal customers and even a few he could call friends. Not to mention his duty, Tomno might not be a soldier anymore but he still had the Republic.

Looking around the market, Tomno sighed, most customers had gone home for the evening and even many of his fellows had packed up. Running a hand through his salt and pepper hair. The human started to pull crates to store away, a task that was easier said than done considering all amount of fruit and veg.

Vanth took the chance and approached the man, taking hold of one of the crates. "Here, let me help you," he flashed the man a rather menacing grin.

"I appreciate the sentiment but I think I can…" The man's words died in the wind as he recognized the scared Weeqay from a few days ago. "What are you doing here?" Tomno hissed, grabbing the crate from the man's grip and putting it in the back of his stall.

"Came to get some of those _peppers._ " Harsak grunted as he stepped into Tomno's shop without invitation and set the crate aside.

"Fresh out, I'm afraid, try the market on level seven hundred." Holding out his arm, Tomno politely indicated Vanth was free to leave, even as he backed toward the bench where his blaster was hidden. He didn't know much about this man, just that he wasn't someone to trust and hopefully that the police wouldn't look too deep into if he ended up being shot in self-defense.

"Oh no, I desire these particular ones. You sold them to a mutual friend." Vanth stepped over to the door, but instead of exiting, he waved through it.

It was a signal for Vala to approach. Which she did at a steady pace.

"You remember him, no? Xan?" Harsak continued.

"Can't say that I do, lots of people order those peppers." Reaching behind him, Tomno's fingers grazed along the grip of the small hold-out blaster he kept from the old days.

"That's interesting, because Xander recommended you to us." Valanthe spoke as she entered the shop, using the Force to close the door behind her. "Tell me, Tomno Sol, how goes business these days? With the war and all?"

Vanth locked the door and planted himself on it, thick arms crossed and frown on his face.

Jumping at the sound of a voice behind him, Tono was cut off from his weapon and any escape. "People need to eat, I provide... It pays the rent." Tomno doubted that he could talk his way out of this, but he had to try. The Weeqay was obviously much stronger and younger than he was, and this strange woman certainly…'felt' dangerous.

"Xander Night. You are one of his informants. You recently facilitated a meeting between our friend here." She pointed over her shoulder towards Vanth, "and Night. Not a couple of days ago, in fact. He bought bellassan peppers from you."

"Yeah? What of it?" Tomno huffed, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "I've facilitated a lot of meetings over the years and probably sold him as many peppers." It seemed pointless to lie, both of the assailants having full knowledge of his _other_ activities.

Vala's eyes darkened as she glared at him. Her tone, however was ice. "He's dead."

She could sense the man trying to lie his way out of this, but it wasn't clear yet why.

"Died the night he returned from this place." Vanth supplied, his anger seeping through in his tone.

Holding up his hands defensively at the angry man, Tomno did not want to be on the receiving end from either of them. "Whoa hold on a second there Pal, what do you mean he's dead?"

"I mean expired, sleeping with the maggots, stone cold...dead." Vanth replied.

Lie. Tomno was worried about himself, not shocked.

"Anything you want to tell us?" Valanthe took a step forward.

"What you think I had something to do with this?" Tomno threw back at the pair. "I've worked with the man for years!"

Lie.

"Just now you all but claimed you barely knew him." Valanthe stepped closer, her fists balling as she tried to keep herself from lashing out at him, though her rising ire and anger at his lies were making it very difficult.

"What I'm just supposed to start talking to the first person that barges into my shop, dropping a name that not many would know!?" Tomno was more than a little agitated at this point, the pair's accusations having him on the defensive. "How am I supposed to know who you are… I did tell this one not to contact me again." Pointing over his shoulder at the Weeqay, Tomno had fully turned to face Valanthe.

Lie.

"Does the name Riis tell you anything?" In all honesty she doubted it would, she'd never met this man before. This man so keen to hide something. She also doubted that Xan would have spoken of her to him.

"It doesn't, I suppose that's someone else I'm supposed to have killed?" He asked, arms still crossed defensively across his chest.

There was something about the way he said it. As if he both confirmed it and asked the question at the same time.

" _Did_ you kill Xander Night?" Valanthe asked in an icy tone, her eyes darkening, muting to a thick, brown shade.

"I don't make it a habit to kill people who serve the Republic!" Tomno's tone shifted, aggression, cutting through the annoyance. "I may not wear the uniform anymore, but I haven't forgotten where my loyalties lie."

Lie.

"Your feelings betray you." As she spoke her hand shot out and pushed through the Force, slamming Tomno into the wall. For now, she simply held him pinned. "You are hiding something from us. Something to do with Night. What is it?"

"I'm not hiding anything you psycho!" Tomno yelled at the woman as she held him against the wall, a crushing sensation making it hard to breath. Struggling against the invisible restraint, it became quickly apparent that he wasn't going anywhere.

"See," she gave a push against his chest through the Force, "your every excuse so far was either a lie or skewing of fact. Like I said, your feelings betray you. This could go a lot smoother if you told us what we needed to know. If not, this will only get worse."

Harsak Vanth watched quietly as the green woman exercised her power on him. _Hells, are you one of the dark ones too, Riis?_

"I don't...know what you're... talking about!" The man struggled out, the crushing force keeping him from moving almost entirely. "I didn't, kill him!"

Valanthe closed her eyes and focused. Her mind slammed into his with no small amount of violence. She was running out of time and out of patience.

"I can sense when you're lying, Tomno…" Valanthe pressed.

The human cried out as he felt the press against his thoughts, the woman pushing past his mental barriers roughly. "I'M NOT….LYING!" He yelled through gritted teeth, his memories starting to flash before his 'eyes'.

"Riis!"

"See I believe you when you say that you are loyal to the Republic. But I don't believe you had nothing to do with Night's death. Your feelings are hiding something." Vala leaned her head to the right as she spoke, "what are you hiding?"

"GET HER OFF ME! SHE'S CRAZY!" Tomno yelled, barely able to move his head to look at the Weequay. He could feel the pressure in his mind, it was like someone was drilling into him.

Valanthe's eyes grew slowly golden, "I gave you the solution, Sol. All you have to do, is take it." She pushed deeper against his mind. There was a barrier there, one someone who was not using the Force could not sustain, not for this long.

Which meant…

"Who told you to do it?" Valanthe changed tact, stepping closer to him.

"Riis!" Vanth called again, then as she asked, he grew confused. "What?"

"No one!" He yelled back, still struggling both physically and in his mind.

Lie.

Valanthe pushed harder mentally and physically. "I start breaking bones next. Or should I break your mind first?"

At this downright menacing tone Vanth took a step towards Valanthe unsure if he should tear her away or not. What in all hells was she doing?

Tomno let out a cry of pain as the woman pushed against his mind. "WHY. DO. YOU. CARE!? HE WAS A TRAITOR!"

Her grip eased, "go on…"

 _A traitor! How dare you?!_ Vanth was now beside Vala. "What do you mean he was a traitor?"

Taking a deep breath, finally the weight from his chest being lifted. "He betrayed the Republic, sold the information I gave him to the CIS!"

A momentary flash of intense anger coursed through Valanthe as she tightened her grip on him before she realized he was telling the truth. Or at least he believed he did.

"Where did you get this information?"

"I was told and shown holo-tapes." The man coughed several times still getting his voice back. "Showed him for what he really was."

A believed truth.

Though, if he believed it and the wall in his head had anything to do with that belief...could it have been planet there? Or did he _actually_ believe that Xander had betrayed the Republic.

"Who showed you this? What holo-tapes?" Vanth pressed.

"Malenta…human, said she worked with Intelligence." Tomno's expression slipped when she brought the woman up.

Malenta. Malenta. Valanthe could not recall the name. But then again it could have been someone new in the last few months. Valanthe looked over at Harsak, eyebrow raised. The man shrugged at her.

"What was on the tapes, Sol?" Valanthe refocused on the man still pinned to the wall.

"Him transferring data to CIS sources and meeting with their agents." Tomno growled out, disgusted at the images. All the years he'd worked with the man, all the information he'd passed along…

Vala felt angry then, both at the insinuations as well as the fact she could not discern the truth in this moment. She could feel Vanth getting increasingly angry and frustrated as well. Without a conscious filter, she fed off of the anger of both of them.

"You lie!" The statement was a gamble, she knew this much. "When did this Malenta give you this information?" Her eyes glowed amber still.

"She showed me a few weeks ago. First the data transfer records, I didn't want to believe it, so she showed me a meeting." Tomno grumbled looking away from the pair, the woman's eyes were unnerving to say the least.

"Did you tell her about the meeting you last had? About Vanth and the database?" Vala's anger brimmed further, she pushed against him stronger, "I suggest you tell the truth."

"Didn't need to, or didn't think I need to. She said something was coming and then he showed up." Tomno, tipped his head toward Vanth. "I assumed it was him."

Something didn't track in that statement. Had whoever it was suddenly gone sloppy?

"What does this Malenta look like?" Valanthe changed tact again, the glow in her eyes dimming though her anger was still there, writhing, coiling. Part of her wanted to end his sorry existence and she so easily could. The other part knew she needed to milk the walking clue first. Afterwards….

"Human, young…" Tomno thought back, Malenta was hard to forget, the image in his head was perfectly clear. "Brown hair, pretty… uh thin, but attractive."

 _You got honeytrapped?_ A thought screamed through her head. What he described was a classic case of a female agent working a male target who had such preference.

This caused Valanthe to push against him and into his mind further.

"You got played you karkin' di'kut!" She growled.

"Riis!" Vanth placed a hand on her shoulder as she bore into Sol. "RIIS!"

"You kill a good man on the word and images of a honey trap!" What made her even more angry was the fact that _she_ did the exact same thing when they were needing to get the codes from Jax Rath in Balmorra. "On the words of a woman you just karkin' met!"

Her eyes glowed again. She needed an image, a better image.

"I DIDN'T JUST MEET HER!" He yelled, the pain suddenly returning in his mind as she once again delved in. "SHE CAME BY FOR WEEKS!"

Valanthe increased the pressure, both inward and outward, her anger boiling over. " .PLAYED! You got karkin' played!" The anger practically consumed her entire being and mind.

"YOU'RE THE ONE BEING PLAYED!" Tomno could no longer see them, his vision had gone blurry as she pushed deeper into his mind.

Harsak could see the woman was clearly not in the right state of mind. She was going to kill this man before they got more information from him. He'd seen Force users go dark in his time under cover. This one was plunging dangerously into the dark pit.

So he stepped behind her, wrapped both of his strong arms around her and pulled her to the side. "Riis, stop it, you are killing him! He's no use to us dead."

The hold on Tomno broke as Vanth pulled her away. There was something about the action that broke through Vala's blinding fury.

"We need something tangible, Riis." He spoke into her ear, "listen to me, Riis. You are better than this."

"You know nothing about me, Vanth." Vala growled as she only put up half the fight against him. Something inside her listened.

"I know Night wouldn't have trusted you if you weren't on the right side of things." Vanth countered. "He's got to have some sort of surveillance in this place. He's got to have her image somewhere. Unless she's that good and she erased all traces of her."

"Where's your surveillance equipment?" Vanth looked over at the man slumped against the wall.

"Back...backroom, code is thirty-three-seventy-one." Tomno was still trying to catch his breath and get a sense of himself. His head felt strange, like something had come apart.

"Go, get in there. I'll keep an eye on him." Vanth released Valanthe.

Her eyes had stopped glowing, though the colour was still a strange kind of brown, rather than her usual lilac. Vanth couldn't help but wonder at that.

 _Later._ He thought to himself.

"Don't worry...he's too weak to get an upper hand on me. Go." He pulled out his blaster, though he wasn't quite certain if he'd have to use it on her instead.

Valanthe glared at him, "I'm not going to hurt you, Vanth." Her voice came out crackled, almost laden with guilt.

 _I don't know, Riis. You looked pretty out of control just before._ He thought to himself.

Shaking her head, Valanthe stepped into the back room, blinking. How had she gotten _so_ angry? How did she allow herself to go that far?

The sight of the door made her focus. She input the code and stepped into the small room.

"When was the last time he saw her?" She called as she sat behind the console of the computer.

Vanth looked at Tomno, back in the main room. "When was the last time you saw Malenta?"

"I don't… I don't remember…" The man groaned out, rubbing his head trying to clear the webs. "Maybe a week… week and a half ago..."

"Week and a half to a week!" Vanth called.

Valanthe found access to the recordings and punched in a timeframe. One by one images warped and zoomed past her eyes. She thought she caught a flash of white at one point but the image rewinded further too fast. When she reached the start of the timeframe she pressed play and watched. At first, there was nothing suspicious. Day to day business.

Until eight days ago a woman came into the shop. Tall, skinny, pale, almost white in skin tone. A series of pale, somewhat darker than her skin tattoos graced the sides of her dark lips and the sides of her head.

 _Rattataki…_ Valanthe thought, her eyes glued to the screen. _She's…?_

Tomno Sol had described a completely different woman. So why was this Rattataki here? One thing that worried Valanthe however was a confirmation of her fear. Whoever this person was they could use the Force. She was clearly performing hand movements that indicated use of the Force and they way she spoke to him, she was clearly influencing him.

So why had he described someone completely different?

"Ask him how his perfect woman looks?" Valanthe called again.

Vanth frowned, "what?"

"Do it!"

The Weequay looked at Sol again, "you heard her. Describe your perfect woman."

"Um well she was… it was so long ago…" But it wasn't, it was only a week ago… then why did it feel like more? "Umm she had… has long flowing hair, brown… a little pointed nose, freckles… I loved her freckles and her smile… you should have seen it...it was the only thing that made my day mean something." Tomno sighed. "I left the service for that smile…"

Vanth shook his head and sighed, "you get all that?"

"Yeah. So why do I see another woman on the recording? Completely different from what he describes?" Valanthe's voice came, almost devoid of emotion, laced with curiosity and confusion.

"What?" Harsak looked between Tomno and the door.

"Bring him in here."

Vanth wasted no time and stepped over to Sol. Reaching down, the Weequay hauled the man to his feet and dragged him into the small room. Valanthe sat there looking at the screen, her arms crossed on her chest.

"I have _this_ woman being seductive and intimate with him. But no woman matching his description." She pointed at the screen with a finger.

Vanth pushed Sol roughly and pointed him towards the screen.

"But that…. That's her, that's my Ariaai…" Tomno said, looking between the two confused by the whole thing. The woman on screen looked exactly like the one who'd come by, the one he'd fallen for as a young man…

"No, that's a pale white woman who's doing Gods know what to your head." Vanth grabbed the back of Tomno's head. "Seriously, look!"

 _Force persuasion with a mix of honey trapping?_ Valanthe kept glancing between Tomno and the screen.

"Wha...what do you mean? That, that's Ariaai! I'd know her any...anywhere…" Tomno's voice trailed off as the image of this woman he loved was replaced by a pale, bald head. He couldn't comprehend what was happening, he clearly could see Ariaai in his head! Or he could a moment ago. Letting out a whimper, he looked between the other two and the screen. "What's happening to me? Why...why can't I remember right?"

"Looks like you too got played, Sol." Vanth commented, watching the man they just tortured and threatened break down in front of them.

Valanthe gave Tomno a broken look. Guilt was clearly written in her eyes and in her features. She had just practically tortured a victim of a nefarious plot. She had let her anger and her grief entirely get the better of her as she detected his own deceit. A deceit he wasn't aware of.

How could she have fallen so far?

Swallowing her shame momentarily, she spoke in a cracked tone. "You only remembered parts of your encounters, didn't you?

"I… I don't know, it was so clear before…" His voice had gotten small, confusion and fear had taken over. "I thought… what have I done? Did I, did I really kill him? Are you sure?" Looking at the Mirialan who'd so recently held him against the wall, he hoped that it was a mistake or that they weren't sure.

"He was dead within hours of meeting with you two," Valanthe pointed between the two men, "he was making dinner with those blasted peppers of yours. I need to get in there and look at the autopsy reports, but they say it was a heart attack. The GAR and RMOI don't think it is...not with all the fanfare they brought out for it."

Tomno was absolutely horrified by what he was hearing. How could he have done something like that, Xander was his friend… his comrade. "No this can't be right, there has to be some kind of mistake!?" He was practically pleading with Valanthe, hands grasping the end of her long black coat.

"Hold on…" Vanth was focused on the image, the movement of the bald woman's lips. "Do you remember what she said here?"

"I…" The man looked up at the screen watching this strange woman speak to him, seduce him. "I don't remember… WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!?" He could remember the feelings when he thought it was Ariaai and before he could remember their conversations… Now he'd lost it, no idea what had gone on.

"This woman, whoever she is...she has influenced you," Valanthe began, however she half choked in her own shame as she continued, "through the Force."

Vanth heard the change in her tone and let out a breath he didn't really realize he'd been holding. Perhaps there was hope for this girl.

"What like a Jedi? Why would they do this? Jedi are supposed to protect the Republic, people like me and Xander…" Tomno was so lost, he couldn't even comprehend what was real anymore.

"Not a Jedi, no. They would not do this." Vala shook her head. "There are others who use the Dark to suit their needs. Like her...whoever she is."

Tomno didn't understand, he'd only ever heard of Jedi that could do these kinds of things.. Now she was saying there were others, it was too much. "So what, what happens now?"

"Now I go find out who this woman is and you…" Vala swallowed hard, "you will present your judgement once I find this person and bring her to justice. Once we know who ordered the hit on Xan and why, I will return and accept whatever retribution for the way I treated you earlier."

"I…" He didn't know what to say, if anything Tomno felt he was the one deserving of judgement. He'd betrayed everything he held most dear and this woman was waiting for _his_ judgement? What a twisted galaxy they lived in now. "How can I judge you? I killed my colleague, a friend… betrayed the Republic… and you freed me…"

"I have also tortured you out of pure anger. I must answer for that. Because I can never repay the pain I caused you." Vala countered.

Tomno shook his head, stretching out to use the wall of the store room to stand up. Despite the intense pain he'd felt moments before, now that the woman wasn't pushing on his mind it was almost like it had never happened. "Maybe so, but I can't even remember the crime I committed, I don't have to live with it… you do. When any of us do something we regret, remembering is usually the worst part. You don't need me to add to it…"

Valanthe said nothing, just nodded. How did she let things go so far?

Harsak sighed, "alright enough of the simpering pity party. Are we going after this schutta or what?"

Valanthe nodded firmly, taking a deep breath. "I need to go talk to the Jedi, see if they know anything."

 _ **Jedi Temple, sometime later**_

There was a strange buzz in the air as she entered the ancient halls so soon again. When she called the Temple to arrange an appointment, there was reluctance to arrange it, but she finally was given a time.

Riis did her best to keep her calm about her, lest too many questions were asked. Considering, however, that she was going to meet with Mace and Yoda, she wasn't so sure her calm facade would fool the two men.

She paced the meeting room, her fingers subconsciously rubbing the little holo-projector, mind going over various clues she'd gathered at Tomno's. It was in that pacing state that the tall dark and the small green man found her.

"Exercise, you are catching up on, young Riis?" Yoda asked as he and Master Windu entered one of the Temple's many meeting rooms. Even for the old master who'd seen thousands of Jedi come and go, it was strange for him, seeing Valanthe here but not as one of them.

Valanthe couldn't help a smile, "Masters," she greeted them with a traditional bow. "I apologize for taking you away from your duties, especially in the light of our earlier meeting. However, I require assistance, if you are able to provide?"

"Provide help we will, if we can." Yoda said returning the bow, glad to see that Valanthe had not forsaken all her teachings. "Troubled, you are. Explain, what occupies your thoughts." Climbing up on one of the meditation cushions, Yoda waited for the other two to join him.

Mace motioned for Valanthe to sit first, which she did fluidly, crossing her legs.

"Masters, I've come across a Force user that has been on Coruscant for at least some time, and she...from what I can tell she is dabbling dangerously close to the Dark Side, or she has entirely fallen, I am not sure." Valanthe began, feeling quite the hypocrite at the moment.

"What has this individual done to come to your attention, Riis?" Mace asked, his fingers steepled together as he watched her contain herself.

"She has interfered with certain events, which resulted in deaths." Valanthe knew she had to give them something, yet not tip her hand. For all she knew the Jedi could unknowingly tip GAR's hand that she had been snooping.

She extended her palm forward with the holoprojector and turned it on, the image of the pale woman and Tomno appearing. Valanthe played the recording for the two Jedi then.

"Operates without our knowledge, this woman does, here on Coruscant no less." Sharing a glance with Mace, Yoda focused on the woman in the holo image. "Resembles she does, a Dark Force user, encountered we have."

Valanthe frowned, "Master?"

"By all records, she used to be a Padawan learner under Master Ky Narec." Mace supplied, "this was long before the outbreak of the War. We had thought her dead initially."

"I am not familiar with Master Narec." Vala looked between the two men. "Who is she?"

"A Watchman he was, Asajj Ventress he took as a Padawan, before his death." Yoda said with a sad shake of his green head. Master Narec had been a promising Jedi and the reports he sent back of his progress with the young Dathomiri were encouraging, had he not been killed, she'd have probably been a great Jedi.

"Who's she working for now, do you know?" Valanthe had a sinking feeling they knew very well whom she was working for. She also had a feeling she was really going to hate the answer.

"Dooku." Yoda said simply, his large eyes narrowing a bit as the man's name left his green lips. His gaze softening a moment later as the elder Master sighed. "Assassin and Commander she has become, for the Confederacy. Fought her many times, Master Kenobi, Knight Skywalker and Padawan Tano have."

She had been right. Valanthe sighed as Yoda spoke. "Thank you, Master."

"May I ask how she has come under your radar, Riis?" Mace looked over at the young woman, his large, dark eyes as calculating and studying as ever.

Valanthe looked over at him, wanting to tell the truth, but with recent events, she was loathe to confide even in the two honorable men before her. At this point, the Mirialan deemed it too risky.

"Cameras caught her interfering with one of our cases." She replied matter of factly, or as best as she could to sound that way.

Mace raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"The Jedi, this case will involve?" Yoda asked, his expression mirroring Mace's. Technically anything involving Ventress, involved the Jedi. But Yoda wasn't going to push too hard, the Jedi had enough to worry about.

Valanthe shook her head, "if I find her, I will notify you. But at the moment it's a GAR/RMOI matter." She said.

"Hmm very well, if support you need, we shall provide." Yoda offered, hoping that perhaps Riis was onto something.

Then, she felt it. A deep, stabbing pain in the core of her soul. Fear, anger, grief, despair all bundled into one. It was a very strange sensation, as if it was coming from far away, and hurtling towards them at hyper speed.

Had something happened? She hadn't felt something this strong in a while. There were no indications something was wrong at the Temple when she arrived.

Guilt, fury, confusion.

Where was it coming from?

A giant sense of loss.

Valanthe blinked, letting out a deep breath. An image of a planet torn in half flashed in her mind for the briefest of moments.

 _Lola Sayu._

Spirits, how could she have forgotten? The team. The briefing. In her state and distracted by Xan's death, she had completely forgotten about Obi-Wan, Anakin, Echo, Fives and the others and the rescue attempt of Master Piell.

Force, she had gone down further than she thought.

"Masters, do you feel that?"

"A disturbance in the Force…" Yoda said grimacing at the sensation through the Force. "Gone wrong, something has with the rescue."

Vala's eyes widened, but Mace interrupted. "We had to send in Master Plo with additional troopers."

"What?"

 _Fives, Echo. Obi-Wan. Spirits…_

"We can discuss this later, Riis. We must get to the Communications tower." Mace was already in his feet heading towards the door.

Valanthe wanted to run after him but chose to stay back with Yoda. "Master, what happened?"

"Their escape, detected it was, the shuttle destroyed." Yoda said as he too got up from the small seat, calling his hover chair so they could also head to the Communications tower. "Many casualties there have been, among our Jedi there seems to have been as well."

Valanthe let out a deep breath as they moved into the hallway, "do we know who?"

"Be sure we cannot, one strong in the Force, but that is all." Yoda's gentle shake of his head belied his frustration. "For some time, answers, we may not have."

Valanthe nodded, attempting to lock down her own concerns and emotions. There was a more important matter now than her investigation.


	24. Chapter 24: Something In Darkness, Pt 2

_**Senate Building, Landing Padd 45 C, special access only**_

The LAAT/i's were coming in hot. She could see the urge in the clone pilots to land as soon as possible. That ball of untamed emotion was fast approaching and Valanthe found it hard to breathe under the onslaught, in her already emotionally weakened state.

What had gone so wrong? Who got killed?

As she stood in the back, behind the requested dignitaries and the Jedi, Valanthe tried to get a mental headcount but the Force was very clouded.

She watched the LAAT/i's land and people started slowly clambering out, the Jedi and the navy officers first. Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Anakin, Plo-Koon, a non-clone Captain, one whom she didn't know, then more navy clones in various states of injured, then came Commander Cody, another clone whose name she didn't know.

Vala's heart sank. Where were they?

Rex came into view first then, sticking close to the clone with the Rishi eel on his helmet.

 _Fives._ Riis let out a breath of relief briefly only to catch it the next second. _Where's Echo?_

Then she realized another was missing. The man they had gone to rescue.

 _Master Piell...I hope you died well, little Master._

Now she understood the grief, the guilt, the confusion and anger. Then the Chancellor and his entourage stepped forward, speaking briefly with Ahsoka and the non-clone Captain. Tarkin was his name if she heard correctly.

The dignitaries soon departed with Ahsoka and Master Plo going with the Chancellor and Captain Tarkin.

Yoda, Mace, Obi-Wan and Anakin remained, along with the clones. Riis approached as the dignitaries left, trying to keep a calm facade.

Obi-Wan was tired, the mission had been a tough one, physically, mentally and emotionally. Losing so many good troopers, and Master Piell… the others had said that the mission was a success, he'd even said the same to Ashoka. But it was hard to feel that way, they were supposed to rescue the Lannik.

Running his hand through his literally dirty blonde hair, the Master noticed Valanthe walking over. There was something off about the woman, something in her demeanor was off, stressed… pained.

Valanthe knew the guilt now too. "How many?" She asked quietly as she approached her friend. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rex talking with Fives, hand on the other's shoulder. _Comfort?_

"Seven, including Master Piell and Sergeant Echo…" Obi-Wan said solemnly, his gaze shifting over to Fives and Rex before returning to Valanthe.

The grief. Valanthe swallowed hard, glancing over at Rex and Fives again before turning her attention back to Obi-Wan. "The coordinates?"

Did Ahsoka have them? Or was it that Tarkin fellow?

"Secure, apparently Master Piell and Captain Tarkin came up with a contingency plan in case they were captured. Ahsoka now has one half, Tarkin, the other." Obi-wan wasn't entirely sure how much more he should be sharing, there was already some contention if the coordinates should go to the Council or to the Chancellor. Bringing Valanthe into mix… who knew how that could make things turn.

Valanthe nodded, "it's not a bad plan, actually." Valanthe shrugged, "how are you doing, old friend?"

Anakin then passed by them with a nod to Valanthe, Cody and Rex in tow, leading the injured navy clones towards an exit. Fives, however remained for a moment and glanced at her.

She wasn't sure what prompted her to just give him a silent nod, but she did and the man returned the gesture. Valanthe would find him later. With that silent communication over, Valanthe returned her attention to Obi-Wan.

Raising his eyebrow at the small interaction, Obi-wan decided not to ask. He was curious of course, but it wasn't his place to pry. "It's been useful thus far, although now that it's back in safe hands, the plan might have led to a complication or two." Sighing with a shake of his head, refocusing on her real question. "All in all I'd say I'm well, tired, and in desperate need of a shower… how about you?"

"Happy I didn't lose too many friends today." She replied with a slight falter in her tone. "I...:" Vala halted when she saw the expression in his face, "I can't discuss it. I'm just glad you're back, all of you."

The expression in her eyes couldn't help but voice, 'what happened to Echo?'

Obi-wan frowned seeing the pain in her eyes, he'd seen the connection Valanthe had made with Fives and with Echo. His loss on top of Master Piell must have been very hard for her. "I'm sorry we couldn't recover his body."

Valanthe nodded, "I know you would have done your best," she said her composure returning, "I should go to HQ and do the debrief. I'll need reports from you, Anakin and the others soon too. I know you all need a break, but you know GAR will want it."

"Of course, we'll be ready whenever you are." Obi-wan said with a nod, the secondary meaning if Valanthe's own life had gotten too deep for her to deal with. Unfortunately from the way it sounded, there wouldn't be much he could do except offer to help.

Valanthe nodded, "Force be with you, my friend."

She wanted to embrace him, take relief in the comfort of a friend being alive, but they were out in the open, too exposed. Valanthe would not embarrass Obi-Wan like that.

"Force be with you too, old friend." Obi-wan said with a small smile, one only Valanthe seemed to be able to pull from him when things were darkest. "Hopefully the next time we meet, we'll have a chance to really catch up."

"I'd love that." Valanthe nodded and stepped away. She had to, she had been selfish too much of late. Much as she would have loved to share Obi-Wan's company more. Others needed her now, she would not indulge her own desires for comfort at this point.

Fives needed her now, probably more than any of the others. True, Valanthe thought Rex would be a more present fixture in the younger clone's life. But she assigned them to the mission at Anakin's behest. It _was_ partially her fault that Echo had perished.

Would Fives accept her help though? That was the question of the day. She had to try , she had to do right by someone today.

 _ **GAR Headquarters, ARCA Barracks, Arc Trooper Barracks, sometime later**_

It was a bit difficult at first to discern a specific presence among numerous so very similar presences as she entered the Barracks. So, she focused harder, calling to her mind all the sensations Fives had made her feel, how he affected her, how she affected him. They'd been through alot together since the rescue on Balmorra. Nodding subconsciously, she went deeper into the complex. After a few moments, her mind stopped in the Arc Trooper gym, her body continuing the trek towards it.

He'd been a very blank signature in the Force when they disembarked the LAAT/i at the Senate building.. Now though it was anything but the blankness that she sensed from inside. Grief, self loathing, guilt, sorrow, fury, loss, crippling loss. Those were but a number of emotions floating around, jutting against each other, scratching, grazing, punching within the Force. Quite a powerful, overwhelming feeling.

Valanthe had hoped that he had spoken with General Thirsan and gotten debriefed before he sequestered himself in the gym, tearing the life out of the training devices. The few fellow ARCs in there seemed both confused and respectful at their new colleague. They knew what loss meant and respected the need to vent.

Riis stood outside the door for a while, wondering just how to best approach the problem ahead of her. She had silently promised him back at the Senate building that she would come see him. What could she do for him though? The clones mostly kept to themselves with their problems, rarely confiding them in the Jedi and the non-clone personnel. Would he accept her help? Then again, was she in the right state of mind to offer proper help? She'd had her own losses and her own darkness to deal with. Could she really help him?

 _It is through helping others, especially those with less experience that we help ourselves as well. Heal oneself through healing others._ Wise words of her old Master Tera Sinube echoed in her mind, always guiding her focus away from herself, but reminding her that through understanding another, one comes to understand themself as well.

 _Kriff it!_ Vala decided and stepped into the gym.

The smell of sweat was strong as she entered, almost a overwhelming, but she soon tuned it out as the doors closed behind her. The gym grew quiet around her, most of the clones stopping what they were doing and turning to see who came in.

She didn't have to be a Jedi to read the expressions on their faces. From wondering at a female form, a lot of clones never having seen one, to wondering why one was in their gym. From wondering why one of their Commanders was in there to wondering who was getting punished. Then they would start following the direction of her head, after she nodded her acknowledgement of them.

Her _target_ was ARC Trooper 5555, known as Fives. "Give us the room, boys," she said, looking over her shoulder. Her brows knotted into a frown as she felt a wave of pity and compassion directed towards Fives as the other clones cleared the gym. They thought she was here to punish him?

The clone in question was at the other side of the gym, massacring the punching bag. He'd not turned nor acknowledged that she was there. She didn't take that to heart, considering he was lost in his own pain, his own grief over what had happened.

What, by the Force would she do now? Now that she was actually here and the man was lost in his own world. _What would Renia do? What would Obi-Wan do?_ Vala wondered. Nothing came to mind as neither would likely go to these lengths. Renia would likely send one of her ARCs to deal with it, Obi-Wan would doubtless send Cody.

 _What would Valanthe do?_ She wondered finally.

Her eyes fell on the hand wraps off at one of the benches. Eyes darting towards Fives' back then back to the wraps, back to Fives, back to the wraps, she made a decision. She shirked her duster and her pistol and strap, her lightsaber and even her boots. She remained in her signature cargo pants and a form fitting t-shirt. Leaning down she picked up the wraps and began wrapping her hands to protect them.

Not that she really needed them but it was something one did when in the gym, she reasoned. She didn't need to be the more agile, Force augmented creature now. Now, she needed to be the sponge, the sounding board. As her fingers fiddled with the straps, she found her eyes roaming over Fives's back.

It was only now that she realized that he wore nothing on his torso. The usual body glove most clones wore off duty was now only the figure hugging leggings, or pants...she wasn't quite sure how to classify the grey material he wore from the waist down.

Her lilac eyes studied the corded muscles of his shoulders and back as they flexed and bulged with each hit. Valanthe realized that clones weren't necessarily tall nor big men, but they were wiry and strong, insanely well sculpted. Broad shoulders, sculpted back, tapered but firm waist, a firm round rear end, firm, thick, sculpted thighs and…

 _And he's finally noticed me…._ Valanthe realized as she did her best to appear casual in pulling on the other hand wrap and cover her slight embarrassment over the fact that she had just shamelessly ogled the man she was trying to figure out how to help.

Still he didn't turn, instead of leaning against what was left of the punching bag, breathing heavily, sweat glistening on his skin. "You've been there a while, Commander. Like what you see?" His tone seemed amused, but he was anything but, Valanthe could tell even without reading the projections from his Force signature.

Vala finished her last strap calmly, "if this were another day, I might have said yes." She said finally then mentally gasped at herself, _Valanthe! Behave!_ "Right now though, no."

 _Right now I feel only sympathy._ Valanthe hated herself for the lie she tried to convince herself off. It wasn't right to use the moment of such vulnerability for personal indulgence. Not here, not now.

Finally he turned to her, "I didn't think you'd be the type to come to punish one of your people like so after an incident of the scale we had on Lola Sayu." He said bitterly, noting her bound hands. Then his expression changed momentarily, as if he was fighting something deep within himself.

 _Are you and your brothers so used to punishment for failure that you expect it from everyone? Oh Force._ Vala realized.

"Spirits, Fives!" She exclaimed, letting her arms drop to the sides, shrugging, "I'm not here to punish you, my friend."

His eyes took her in, inch by inch, his eyes still lingering on her wrapped hands, "you're dressed for a fight though." Amber eyes burned with a myriad of emotions.

She raised her hands, "thought you might have wanted to blow off some steam, is all. That bag...its...well, you killed it." Vala motioned to the raggedy remains.

He looked back behind him, blinked, realizing she was right. A ragged chuckle escaped him as he rubbed the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly and turned back to her taking her in again with his eyes.

It had felt uncomfortable when Burner would watch her like that, especially after the kiss. Was she dismissing this on the account of his state? Or was she comfortable under those particular amber eyes?

He cleared his throat, and looked to the floor, then to the mats near them. Hoping to deflect from the slight embarrassment he felt at his own boldness. He'd never seen his Commander in this state of dress, or rather undress. The problem was, he didn't mind at all. Sure he'd seen her in work out clothes back on Kamino, when he and Echo were starting out.

Just thinking of his fallen brother brought him back to reality. He looked at her again, pain colouring his features,

"I can't fight you, Commander." He said as he saw her get into a stance, "I don't want to hurt you."

Vala who was dancing on her heels as she warmed up her muscles and waited, "you won't, I promise." _Besides I could use a good ass kicking after everything I did...or didn't do lately._

Fives observed her for a moment, seeing something very much akin to what he was feeling in her own features and it scared him a little. He wasn't sure why this mirror scared him. Deciding he wouldn't dwell on it at that moment he got into a stance too.

"Commander, are you sure?" He asked again, gathering the courage within himself. He was about to hit his Commander.

"Considering we're about the beat the kriff out of each other, Fives, you can call me Valanthe, or Vala, if you like." She flashed him a grin, extending one arm forward, fingers wiggling in a motion saying, _come on then._ "Yes, I am sure. You need to get it out of your system and aside from your brothers, I'm probably the only one who can take a hit from you and stay on my feet. Dance with me, Fives."

He nodded slowly as he eased into his stance, nodding again. "Alright, let's dance." Normally, this would bring a smile to his face, but now, he was a blank board, or punching bag. At least, he wanted to be.

The first few hits were easily dodged, they served to test reaction anyway. Vala deflected and side stepped easily, experimented herself. He was just as agile as she was when she wasn't using the Force to augment her movements. Valanthe could tell the man was holding his true power back, probably from the ingrained fear of hurting a Jedi.

So, she would have to coax it out of him. Coax the energy, the power, the emotion. She knew she needed to get him to talk about it, to explain to him that it was okay to hurt, that it was going to be a bit better in the end. That it wasn't his fault.

So she started hitting a little harder, forcing him to defend himself. Both of them were quite proficient in their combat styles, Vala's more focused on agility and precision, while his was a mix of strength and tactic, how to take care of your opponent in the quickest way possible. Soon, it developed almost into a dance.

Valanthe was developing a sweat, and she could see he was glistening even more than before.

"Talk to me, Fives. Tell me what happened? Ooof!" Valanthe dodged a left hook, but was swept to the floor the next moment and rolled away quickly. His next attack came more forcefully.

"What is there to say! You know what happened! It was a clone's fault! It always is!" He growled.

"What?" Obi-Wan's take on things had been much different. Had someone had a go at them already? At Fives himself?

"Charger slipped on a loose piece of rock and fell into an electro mine, tripping the alarms. The whole kriffin' prison knew we were there in three seconds flat!" Fives landed a heavy jab to her kidney.

Valanthe groaned but kept moving, "go on."

He went through the subsequent events. As the event drew to the landing pad where their shuttle awaited them with R2 and the reprogrammed battled droids, his movements grew sloppier, easier to deflect, easier to sneak a hit or two in of her own.

Even still, he had less impact zones than she. Every hit she let him land, she believed she deserved, for what she had done to Tomno, for how she lost herself in her own darkness.

She only really put up a defence for any hits going towards the face.

"They just kept coming!" Fives said, dodge rolling out of her way. "We thought we were going to get out...unf.." he blocked Vala's attack and sent her rolling behind him, only to earn a foot straight to the chest as she kicked out and pushed him away and rolled away herself. "We had to stop them from getting to the shuttle...and Echo…"

He was on his knees, one hand bracing against the mat. "Echo didn't hesitate. He took the initiative," Fives' breathing grew ragged. "He raced forward, took the energy shield of the guards and made for the shuttle, I was…" A choked sound left his lips.

Vala had rolled into a low crouch, both of her hands braced against the mats, listening intently, watching the breakdown in front of her eyes.

"I was behind him I was supposed to support him." Fives wasn't looking at her any more, more through her, then through the mat, then through her again as the memory replayed behind his eyes. "I told him to look out, I could see that turret was going to hit him! Maker! I could see it, I could feel it!"

 _But something happened, didn't it?_ Valanthe knew this was the moment Echo had died, but how? Why was Fives feeling so damn guilty? What did he do?

She knew it in the next moment, as he looked at her with pained eyes, "I froze, Commander. I stood there and let the droid manning the turret hit him."

Tears rolled out of amber eyes, "I froze…" his voice grew soft, "I froze and my brother is dead. He's dead because I couldn't save him, Commander. I failed them all, the Domino's, Echo, the others, you, the Generals, I failed everyone…" he hung his head, his shoulders shaking. A sob escaped him then, then another and another.

 _You think it's your fault, Obi-Wan thinks it's his._ Valanthe crawled over to him, shirking her hand wraps and kneeling in front of him as he covered his face with his hands. "Fives, no one blames you for this," Vala said softly, but her words had no effect.

How could she say that? Of course it was his fault! He was supposed to watch out for Echo. Why would she be trying to distort the truth?

"Fives," Vala placed her hands on his shoulders, "Fives, look at me." Then when he didn't, she added a soft, "please."

His head finally raised slowly, why was she being so kind? He was a clone built for one purpose. He wasn't even able to do that. They'd not only lost Charger, Echo and several others, they also lost Master Piell and they had gone to rescue _him._

"I spoke with the Generals," she said gently, her heart breaking for him, the grief and guilt he projected rivaling her own, threatening to overcome her. Vala fought it down, she needed to help at least someone today. She needed to do right by someone today. "Lola Sayu was a disaster waiting to happen from the word go. Everyone knew it, the Generals, the Jedi, me, Force even you and your brothers did. You went in with what little intel we had and you did your _best,_ all of you did your very _best._ Wars are unpredictable. You could not have anticipated for every eventuality, Fives." Vala said, eyes holding his.

"We are clones, Commander. We are born and bred for war, we should have anticipated it all. It's who and what we are." He countered, unwilling to hear her. How could she be excusing it?

"See that's the paradox right there, Fives." Valanthe's palm touched his cheek, her own eyes having difficulty remaining dry, "clone or not, you're still human, a living being. All of us are, which also means we are flawed. Even the wisest cannot see all ends." She could feel him stiffen under her touch, yet, he remained rooted in place.

"I came back and Echo didn't," his voice was ragged as he looked at this green Jedi still so intent on absolving him from his guilt. "I promised you I'd bring him home."

"Fives, no one can make such a promise for certain, not in the type of job we do." Vala's hand returned to his shoulder.

He missed the warmth of her hand the moment it left his cheek. At the same time he hated himself for daring to think it, to think about anything else but Echo. This alone brought him to tears again.

"How can you say that, Commander? Especially after I froze…"

"Oh Fives," Vala sighed, gingerly wrapping her arms around him, "everybody has a moment like that," she murmured as her chin settled in the crook of his neck.

She could tell he was shocked at the contact, not that he didn't know what she was doing, they _had_ hugged before. Vala knew it was because he didn't believe he deserved one.

When she wasn't letting go, something deep within him released, telling him it was okay. Okay to put his arms around her and bury his head in her shoulder. So he did, tighter than she was holding him and he wept. For Echo, for Charger, for the long gone Dominos. He wept for his failure, for the loneliness he felt amongst the 501st.

The only one he was really close to had been Captain Rex, on the odd occasion he'd get assigned with them after he and Echo made ARCs.

Valanthe's arms tightened around him, "it's okay, Fives." She whispered softly, "it's okay. You'll get through this." Vala felt his arms tighten further around her, "you _can_ get through this. I believe in you."

Something in his Force signature changed then and it seemed to brighten a little.

"Why are you doing this, Co...Vala?" He muttered into her shoulder. She had asked to drop ranks, so he determined it was okay. "Why? You don't have to."

"I know I don't," she said leaning her head slightly against his as she felt his breathing evened out. "I _want_ to. I care about what happens to my boys. I care when they are happy, when they are sad, I care when they are in trouble, I care when they are at the '79's having a drink."

"Look, I know you prefer the company of clones, and I understand that," Vala continued, pulling back slightly to look him in the eye. She was amused at the fact that he didn't release her either, in fact, he even resisted the separation a bit. A part of her she shushed away didn't mind.

"I am _so_ sorry, about Echo's loss. I know how close you two were." Vala said earnestly, "I will listen and keep your confidence, if you will have me. A different perspective often leads to problems solved."

He did not deserve such kindness. From anyone, let alone from a Jedi, let alone from his Commander. She seemed insistent though, stubborn even. Fives could even see her point. Fives would not refuse her and he would would do his best to be a friend to her too. She deserved no less from him. That is, if she would have a clone as a friend. A true friend.

This time, he followed his urge and tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer, "thank you." He said, his chin resting on her shoulder, hoping he was conveying his gratitude correctly.

Valanthe smiled as she buried her face into his shoulder this time, squeezing him gently. There was brightness in him, and that bit of cheek she had come to like, perhaps a bit too much.

She had succeeded though, she believed. She had done right by someone today. At least someone.

Fives felt her shudder in his arms a little and choke back a sob. "Valanthe?" He asked, pulling back a little, shocked at how red and watery her eyes were. "What is it?"

"I can't…" Vala swallowed thickly, "it's not you…" she added quickly, "it's just not safe to talk about it, not here, not now."

His Force signature clearly echoed his concern.

"When you can…?" He wiped a stray tear with his thumb.

Valanthe nodded, "when I can."

"Thank you, for trusting me. For everything." He said to her, in all honesty.

 _ **Doom City District, Coruscant, sometime later**_

It killed Vala not to be able to tell Fives the truth. But with what she had learned, she could not risk his life or involvement in what she was going to do. She had already cost him so much, sending him on that mission. She would not risk him so again if she could help it.

There _was_ a friend she had to warn though. Valanthe had to warn Ren. Someone had to know, to hopefully continue what she started. Sure there were Vanth and Tomno, but Vanth, once identified would soon become a liability and Tomno, Tomno had been through enough. So now, Valanthe sat at a secured terminal of a Doom City building, a scrambled, outbound communication waiting to be picked up. The place was a well-known red-light distict, complete with narrow streets, painfully ugly neon lamps on the walls and shady dealings. Perfect for what she wanted to do.

Whilst on the inside she was trying to keep herself together, on the outside, to anyone who knew her, it was quite clear that Valanthe had had an extremely difficult few days. Pain and sadness echoed from her features and a lot of unshed tears.

Ren had been meditating when Vala's call had come in, she felt the ripple through the Force, this disconcerting wave that left her feeling antsy. Making her way to a nearby section of her garden she activated the holoprojection system. Ren had insisted on getting a communications system setup in the garden, while she would need to work, it was nice to have a space where she could do so in peace. Opening up the communication Ren felt her chest clench, the ripples in the force becoming so much more intense as her eyes settled on Vala.

Her friend was distraught, that much was obvious, her face tight and flushed like she was trying to hold herself together by shear force of will.

"Valanthe… what's the matter?"

"So many things, old friend." Valanthe's voice was hollow as she spoke. " Remember what I told you when you were last here? They've started to catch up. Night is dead…" She said softly, her tears spilling over her eyes, "they had a friend kill him…"

"By the Force… Vala… I am so, so sorry." Seeing the tears begin to fall down those deep green cheeks, the break of her already hollow, lacking voice. Ren wanted to order the ship to turn round, race back to Coruscant so she could hold the woman in her arms, reassure her that everything would be alright, protect her from whatever she'd gotten herself into. Instead she was here, hurtling off toward her next battleground and all she could offer was words… "I know you aren't alright, but are you holding up?"

Vala shook her head, "Echo's dead too.." Her voice came out even more broken. "I failed my team again. Eventhough Fives is convinced its _his_ fault...it's not. I should never have authorized them to go on the mission."

"Oh Vala no…" It was worse than she thought, Ren truly was a moment away from turning the ship back. "It's not your fault and it's not Fives'…" It pained her to say this, but it was something she learned more than once since the war started, since Sameria. "It's war and we are all soldiers, sacrifice walks hand in hand with each of us."

Vala nodded slowly, "does the name Asajj Ventress mean anything to you?"

She knew Ren would go to the ends of the cosmos for her and Vala would do the same for her sister, right now though, Ren was safer doing her job, and Vala was safer doing hers.

"I've heard of her yes, haven't faced her in battle yet, but it's something I've been trying to prepare Mina for." Ren hoped that Vala wasn't simply deflecting to bottle up her feelings, the Mirialan always felt so deeply and when she compartmentalized her heart, Ren worried. "She's Dooku's assassin, a Dark Force user as skilled with her lightsabers as she is with seduction. At least according to Obi-Wan's report."

Vala nodded, "I need to find her. If you see or hear anything, will you let me know?" The Mirialan sighed, trying to focus on what she needed to do instead of what she felt. What she felt had gotten her into a lot of hot water lately and she needed to regain control of herself again. She needed to detach.

 _How ironic, that the more I break from the Jedi, the more I fall back on their teachings._ Vala thought to herself in that moment.

"Vala, you're not planning to do anything rash are you?" From what she'd learned of Ventress, even Skywalker had trouble matching her in single combat. Vala was out of practice and hurting, a dangerous and often deadly combination.

"I'm going to do my job, Ren. Just like you're doing yours. She's tied to this, somehow. To what's happened." Vala sighed, "she influenced someone to kill Night."

 _Of course she did…_ Vala wasn't wrong, she was doing her job. But there was more, Vala was unbalanced, the loss of Xan pained her deeply. "It's different Vala and you know it, when I act I have a whole battalion and Mina behind me… you can't go after Ventress alone." _Too many have died doing the same, I won't lose you…_

"It's less of a risk. This way noone else can get hurt. I won't risk you or Mina, or any of our guys on this." Vala shook her head. "I can talk my way into going off on an off world mission easily…"

In truth she was considering doing more than just talking her way into it.

"You and I have obviously developed a very different definition of less, how is you going in to this situation alone _less_ risky than taking along two Jedi and lets just say a squad of highly trained and battle hardened clones?" Ren was on a mission but that didn't mean she couldn't take a detour to help rid the Republic of a rather large thorn in its side.

"I can hide, for one." Vala raised an eyebrow.

"And if you're discovered?" Ren crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow of her own.

"I'll just have to make sure I won't be and that a copy of my files is deliverd to you if I don't reset the dead drop in time." Vala shrugged, "I need to do this, Ren. For Xan, for Echo...for all of us."

"But why…" Ren stopped herself, a lump forming in her throat, it was pointless even if she were standing right in front of the woman there was nothing she could have said to dissuade Vala. "Why won't you let me help you, I just got you back…"

"Because I just got you back too," Vala replied, her lilac eyes watering a bit. It was as close to an admission of affection and love Vala could muster at the moment.

The distance between them seemed to close as Vala spoke, instead of millions of lightyears separating the two women it was only a few inches, Ren could almost reach out, almost feel the warm touch of Vala's cheek on her hand… almost. The lump in Ren's throat threatened to spill over and turn into tears.

"I don't…" She couldn't even finish the thought, the words and consequences too awful to make real.

"Keep them safe, Ren. Please." Vala swallowed hard.

Why were these always so hard? She was shaving a hard time dealing with all of the other already accumulated emotions and now...now Renia was just cutting at her heart, making her wish she was on that ship now instead of this dingy place trying not to have her signal picked up and traced here in the bowels of Coruscant.

"I will Val, I promise…" Ren wasn't sure if she could hold back, the code was of no solace to her now and the one person who would be was so very far away… "Don't…. Just come back to me ok?"

Vala nodded, her throat bobbing up and down as she swallowed hard. "I'm not giving up on those I care about again."


End file.
